Rock is back, baby! Again! Nattily dressed Swedish garage kings the Hives strutted their way onto the MTV airwaves in 2001. They left a deep enough impression that whenever I hear the "hate to say I told you so" bridge on Chappell Roan's "Good Luck, Babe!," I add a mental "awright!" They're still going, and they've just announced plans to follow 2023's The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons with a new album that has the excellent title The Hives Forever Forever The Hives.
Look at that cover art. It's so beautiful. The Hives recorded The Hives Forever Forever The Hives at a couple of Stockholm studios -- the facilities used by Yung Lean and the YEAR0001 label, and Riksmixningsverket, the facility owned by ABBA's Benny Andersson. The Hives recorded the album with Yung Lean/Viagra Boys collaborator Pelle Gunnerfeldt. Beastie Boy Mike D and Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme both contributed in unspecified ways.
I am delighted to report that lead single "Enough Is Enough" opens with this line: "Everyone's a lil fuckin' bitch! And I'm gettin' sick and tired of it!" Frontman Howlin' Pelle delivers that lyric with conviction, and the track is a revved-up take-no-prisoners rocker that honestly goes harder than I was expecting. In director Eik Kockum's extremely fun video, Howlin' Pelle plays a flamboyant boxer who insists on doing his own ring introductions. The Hives will spend the second half of playing shows all over the world. Below, check out the "Enough Is Enough" video, the LP's tracklist, and the band's touring itinerary.
TRACKLIST:
01 "(introduction)"
02 "Enough Is Enough"
03 "Hooray Hooray Hooray"
04 "Bad Call"
05 "Paint A Picture"
06 "O.C.D.O.D"
07 "Legalize Living"
08 "(interlude)"
09 "Roll Out The Red Carpet"
10 "Born A Rebel"
11 "They Can’t Hear The Music"
12 "Path Of Most Resistance"
13 "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives"
TOUR DATES:
4/12 - New York, NY @ Rough Trade / Indieplaza
7/17 - Fremantle, WA @ Metropolis Freo
7/19 - Melbourne, Australia @ Forum
7/22-23 - Sydney, Australia @ Enmore Theatre
7/24 - Brisbane, Australia @ Fortitude Music Hall
7/26 - Yuzawa, Japan @ Fuji Rock
9/08 - Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
9/09 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues
9/10 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
9/12 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
9/13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center
9/15 - Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
9/16 - Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom
9/17 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
9/19 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
9/20 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
9/22 - Del Mar, CA @ The Sound
9/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
10/16 - Oslo, Norway @ Sentrume Scene
10/18 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ KB Hall
10/21 - Berlin, Germany @ Colombia Halle
10/24 - Munich, Germany @ Zenith
10/25 - Leipzig, Germany @ Haus Auensee
10/26 - Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
10/28 - Zurich, Switzerland @ Xtra
10/29 - Milan, Italy @ Alcatraz
10/31 - Barcelona, Spain @ Sant Jordi Club
11/02 - Madrid, Spain @ Wizink
11/04 - Lisbon, Portugal @ Sagres Campo Pequeno
11/19 - Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
11/20 - Paris, France @ Le Zenith
11/22 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS
11/24 - Cardiff, UK @ Utilitia Arena
11/26 - Glasgow, UK @ Ovo Hydro
11/28 - Manchester, UK @ Aviva Studios
11/29 - London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
12/01 - Cologne, Germany @ Palladium
12/02 - Frankfurt, Germany @ Jahrhunderthalle
12/03 - Hamburg, Germany @ Sporthalle
12/06 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Avicii Arena
The Hives Forever Forever The Hives is out 8/29 on Play It Again Sam.
