The Hives
Your New Favourite Band

THE REVIEW

In 2001, a rather odd "Best Of" was released, especially considering the discography that the Swedish punk'n'roll band had until that moment. In fact, officially, only two albums had been released ("Barely Legal" and "Veni Vidi Vicious"), while several EPs had been produced by the band. Curated by the beloved Alan McGee (Creation), for this album nothing more was done than to collect singles, unreleased tracks, and some of the songs included in the first two official works for a paltry duration of just 29 minutes of music.

The opening track Hate To Say I Told You So (the longest track on the album, 3'27") represents what is somewhat the album's common thread, namely a rather fast and gritty punk rock, with garage tones that significantly characterize the band's sound.
As you move along, you notice that especially in Main Offender and Supply And Demand, the same line as the first track is maintained. No track reaches three minutes in length, with two instances even remaining under two minutes (Untutored Youth and Hail, Hail, Spit and Drool).
Throughout the album emerges an aggressive garage-rock, fast even if not very original. Notable are the inspirations from '70s punk (see Sex Pistols) and '60s garage.
The singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist's voice is always quite fast, almost crazy, schizophrenic. The band's sound at times is even somewhat unpolished, rough, typically garage. This is what the Hives aim to do, and this is essentially what they manage to do, nothing more and nothing less.

In essence, this is the album expected from the Swedish band. Short, fast, gritty tracks, with sharp guitars and a simple but very incisive bass. A crazy frontman and a classic look of five-all-the-same (always strictly in black and white) just enough to be a typical stage, live performance band. On the record, the tracks may seem repetitive, all the same (after all, it’s somewhat true...), but the real home for the group seems to be the stage, the live performance, and not the recording studio. A decent album, not to be thrown away but not to be needed at all costs either, after all, it is a collection...