The Hives: Veni Vidi Vicious : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

If the success of Sweden's Hives proves anything, it's that balls-out garage rock is evergreen. The stylized sounds on the newly rereleased Veni Vidi Vicious are no less cool and sexy now than they were when the Sonics, the Stooges or the Buzzcocks played them decades ago. Vicious is a combination of punk's snottiness, Detroit rock's raw power and the stylized blues freak-outs of bands like Pussy Galore. "Hate to Say I Told You So," a single currently getting spins on some big rock stations, is a flawless articulation of those influences, recorded with a meaty, modern hi-fi finish. "Do what I want 'cause I can/And if I don't because I wanna," barks singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, summing up the spirit of Hives-style rock.

The band's lyrics -- which occasionally suffer because of the language barrier -- address that perennial punk subject matter: social anxiety. On "Main Offender," a buzz saw of a song revolving around a riff straight off a Nuggets compilation, Almqvist complains, "I'm stuck in ways of sadistic joy/And my talent only goes as far as to annoy."

Any fan of old-school guitar punk will find something familiar here. But there's a reason these particular born-too-late garage rockers were signed by a major label for a reported million bucks. When all is said and done, the white-hot sound of Veni Vidi Vicious is unmistakably the Hives.

JENNY ELISCU
(RS 898 - June 20, 2002)