New Release: The Hives:Tyrannosaurus Hives Reviewed By Liberation Iannillo

 

Tyrannosaurus Hives, the latest album and major label debut from The Hives, sounds more like a pitiful attempt at a demo tape than a studio album. Though on the plus side, if you are 14 years old or are in a dive bar shooting pool, this might be right up your alley.

Following up their last album “Veni Vidi Vicious”, which was listed in Rolling Stone’s Top 50 albums of the year, the Swedish garage band relies too heavily on an ‘Iggy and The Stooges’ formula.

The album’s opener, “Abra Cadaver” has a great, juicy glam / punk riff but within seconds it’s drowning in overly distorted vocals. In a blink of an eye the one minute and thirty three second song is over. In fact most of the songs on this album are either too short, (the longest being three minutes and eleven seconds), or are generally intolerable due to Howlin' Pelle Almqvist’s flat, frantic, one note screeching. The music would have potential if the lyric style wasn’t like every other bar band out there trying to make it.

As I turn this album off for the 20th time, I am grateful for two things. The first thing is Mtv.com’s “The Leak” which allows you to listen to new albums in their entirety before going out and making a purchase you’ll regret. The second thing I am grateful for is that I will never, ever, have to listen to this album at will again.

www.hives.nu