the black and white album

i just recently re-discovered The Hives' Veni Vidi Vicious and fell totally in love with it. i remember watching Conan during the winter and seeing these guys play, and i thought "they're still around?" thank god they are.

Recorded almost entirely in Oxford, MS (home of William Faulkner and Colour Revolt), The Black and White Album is a dive into a mature, clean, and well polished Hives sound. Admittedly, it is a bit hard to swallow at first. The whole straight-rock feel is prevalent throughout the album, but there are a few songs ("Puppet on a String", "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.", "Giddy Up!") that go in totally different directions from the others. But maybe the whole black & white actually stands for something.

Organs, atmospheric keys, chimes, and even a cowbell can be heard throughout the cd, which is a contrast to the bareness of just guitars, bass and drums from Vicious ( i haven't heard Tyrannosaurus Hives yet). this clean and polished tone makes me a little nervous. what's the deal here? where's the rock and roll at? i detect some ska or swing influence. and, to top it off, Howlin' Pelle sounds so Jagger-esque that it's unreal. this album, though another great Hives album, seems like an attempt at trying to make it very commercially appealing. When top-notch producers like Pharell Williams get involved (as is the case here), the focus of an album gets lost. i believe this is true here, as it could've used a little more grit and less refinement.

but, nonetheless, The Hives are still showing that they can put out some good material and, excluding a handful of songs, prove they can still kick some serious rock n' roll ass on The Black and White Album.