The Hives Go Right Ahead... And Steal Riffs (Updated)

Swedish garage rockers The Hives haven't released a new album in five years, a silence they intend to break on June 5 with the release of Lex Hives. As is customary when announcing a new album, we've got a taste of what's to come in the form of Go Right Ahead, which is streaming here.

Upon thirty seconds of precursory exploration, I was a little shocked and disgusted at just how blatantly the band have taken to lifting classic riffs. It used to be sort of endearing hearing them twist and manipulate the Kinks' All Day and All of the Night's main riff until it gave birth to three or four Hives songs. But, when you pretty much directly cherry pick the riff from E.L.O.'s Don't Bring Me Down and stamp your name on it, especially five years removed from your last original material, it kind of makes me wonder. As in, should these guys even be a band anymore? How long before their shtick stops evoking nostalgia and starts evoking lawsuits? Your move, Jeff Lynne.

UPDATE (May 12): According to a recent interview, Hives mainman Pelle Almqvist admitted that (unintentionally) the track sounded a hell of a lot like Don't Bring Me Down, and that Jeff Lynne was given partial songwriting credit to avoid any potential legal ugliness. I love a happy ending.

Also, they've released the video for Go Right Ahead which, I'll admit, is pretty cool. So, naturally, I'll share it with you:

Lex Hives is still out June 5.

Comments

Year in Rock 2025

Alright, I've got some explaining to do. By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but: a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

Year in Rock 2014: And the Winners Are...

It's been a long year, and another great one for rock n' roll. While the pop charts were overrun with barely legals obsessed with their asses, rock soldiered on undeterred even as pundits (hell, in some cases even rockers themselves) mourned the genre. Sure, rock didn't dominate the money game in 2014, but that shouldn't evoke sad nostalgia and eulogies. Even for as little perceived impact rock music made, a hell of a lot happened if people had only paid attention. From grizzled vets adding jewels to their crown (Springsteen, Petty) to new beginnings (Against Me!, Antemasque) to happy returns (Faith No More, The Tea Party) and all points in between, rock continued to thrive, evolve and thrill in 2014. Enough talk. It's winning time. Your Year in Rock winners for 2014 are...

Headstones Are Getting It Right. And By "It", I Mean "Everything".

When Headstones announced they were finally getting together for a new record (a decade since they'd released one, as the band drifted apart and Hugh Dillon's acting career began to pay dividends), they did so by letting their fans get in on the ground floor. Headstones got self-promotion right. They started accepting pledges toward the funding of the new record on October 19th at their official Pledge Music site , with pledge items ranging from $10 (digital download of album) and $5,000 (a private Headstones unplugged show for you and your friends). Within a day, they'd reached 90% of their goal; as of this writing, they sit at 283% reached. Headstones got funding right. With a planned release date of March 26 looming, something happened. They messed around and got a record deal after a subsidiary of Universal Music (who had originally signed the band back in '92) loved what they heard, and wanted to release it worldwide. The logistics of these things tend to...

SOUND BITES

Search This Blog