Unlike fellow garage revisionists the White Stripes, the Hives never had any highfalutin art to live up to; the color-coordinated Swedes were here for the lulz. The peaks on their first LP in five years are all goofy id – like "Go Right Ahead," where they cross the Ramones with ELO, then add sax. They lose steam at times, but by the LP's end, their toga party is back pogo'ing and the neighbors are knocking.

Listen to 'Lex Hives': 

Related
• Photos: Random Notes

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.