The Hives are pure rock ‘n’ roll energy. In a world where (at the risk of sounding cliche) rock ‘n’ roll is becoming more and more corporate, The Hives are mashing up pure punk rock energy with pop sensibilities.
Although, “I wouldn’t look at it that way,” drummer Chris Dangerous told Undercover. “I think that we’re a rock band in the true sense, but I think that we’ve gone from being a punk rock band to being more of just a rock band. I don’t think there’s too much pop in there actually. It’s weirder songs, but they’re still rock songs. There might be pop there, but to call us a pop group, no no.”Still, they did work with Pharrell Williams and Jacknife Lee on their latest album ‘The Black and White Album’. Surely there is a pop touch to their music?
“The thing is that on the first three records we all had a very set plan for what we wanted to be and we were going to quit after those three records, but we felt that we weren’t really done with music.
“We felt that the world needed more Hives and for us to be able to put out a fourth record we had to try to reinvent ourselves and we had to think long and hard about what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it, and how to do it and still have us interested in it. For us [Tyrannosaurus Hives] really felt like a closure, and for the Black and White album we wanted to try something different and see how far we could take it with other people’s ideas and collaborations and stuff.
“It was a very fun time for us. In some ways we felt like we started a new band by not obeying all the rules that we had set for ourselves when we were seventeen. It sounds corny as hell, but spread our wings and try out some new stuff.”
This melting pop of punk and pop doesn’t stop the band from putting on their famed electrifying live shows.
As Dangerous says, “We always try to be the best band in the world when we play a live show. There is no point in trying to be second best. There is no point in not trying to give it two million per cent every night. If one of the guys feels really really bad - because we hardly ever cancel a show, even if you are hospitalised you can still get out and do an hour and a half, then you can rest for 22 hours afterwards, so that’s the mindset of the band.”
“No one would be more disapointed than us if someone left a Hives show disappointed.”
Just to prove a point, Dangerous told us “I was robbed once in Finland. That was bad. I was hospitalised and almost blinded, and I still got up on stage. In retrospect I probably shouldn’t have. It’s the most painful thing I’ve ever done in my life, because when I started to sweat it all came back and I was on so much painkillers and I fell off the stool and things like that, but it was still a great show and everyone loved it, so it was great.”
Australian fans will get the chance to see this amazing live show at the end of the year (or the start of next, depending on where you are).
“When we hit Australia it will be just as much fun for us as it is work,” Dangerous explained. “Because we’re flying all that time and spending new year’s in Australia. It won’t feel like a tour.”
And since they’re just beginning work on their next record, will there be any new songs? “We’ll see, we’ll see what happens. We haven’t started to rehearse any new songs yet, but that’s what we’re going to do up until Christmas and yeah we’re going to continue of course when we get back from Australia. We’ll see if we have anything that is being close to being finished, and if we do then we might actually try out some new stuff on the Australian audiences.”
You can see the band in Australia at:
DECEMBER
29 - The Forum, Melbourne, VIC
30 - The Falls Festival, Lorne and Marion Bay (VIC and TAS) (Sold Out)
31 - The Falls Festival, Lorne and Marion Bay (VIC and TAS) (Sold Out)
JANUARY
2 - Southbound Festival, Busselton, WA
6 - The Metro, Sydney, NSW
7 - Sunset Sounds Festival, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets for all shows are on sale now, except The Falls, which has sold out.
