What the fuck is with this bizarre vinyl trend of labeling records the wrong RPMs? 45s that are 33 1/3s… 33 1/3s that are 45s… thank god no one uses 78s anymore! Anyway I partially think it’s hilarious. Hahaha vinyl… you got me again! I truly appreciate a good bout of fucking with people, so in that respect I’m all for it. Just seems odd that it’s been happening so much to me lately. Anyway so the new Hives 45 is not a 33 1/3 as the label suggests. Cheeky Swedes.
The Hives are like the Cheetos of Garage Punk to me. Let me explain. I really dig Cheetos. But there was this one summer round the age of 13 where I ate nothing but for weeks on end and eventually got burned out on them and couldn’t look at them for a few years without throwing up in my mouth a little. Even now I eat them only once or twice a year give or take. And usually they’re not even Cheetos brand anymore but some yuppified Whole Foods all natural Cheez Doodle knockoff (yes I get the irony in this). But I digress. So when the Hives first came out I really dug them (even if they were a blatant New Bomb Turks ripoff). But then they just wouldn’t go away and I found myself wanting to knock that perma-smirk off their lead singers face. Yeah I get that it’s an act and it’s meant to be over the top and funny. But Christ, enough already with that shit. Their music too wore out it’s welcome. By the time I bought “Tyrannosaurus Hives” I couldn’t even remember what I liked about the band anymore. But it’s been a few years so when I saw their new 7″ staring at me like a tasty bag of Cheetos I figured I’d buy it.
The premise behind the release of “Tarred and Feathered” is that they’re just about to start recording a proper new full length of originals and they started their practice sessions with cover songs to get back into the swing of things, then released said covers as a 7″ to tide fans over. Whew! That premise was a mouthful of cheez if ever there was one. Alright so getting to the point of this review (or any review for that matter), is it worth your hard earned cheddar (see what I did there)? Sure. Why not.
What I like most about this 7″ is that it’s relatively raw and under-produced. I think bands like The Hives are at their best when they’re sounding their worst. Garage Rock should always sound like it were recorded in an actual garage on the worst possible equipment (see anything by The Mummies for further proof). I’m hoping The Hives keep this in mind when recording the songs for their new full length. Less is more you f’n Swedes!
How bout the covers themselves? Let me just say this…The Hives cover of Numbers by The Adicts is one of the reasons I got into them in the first place. And their new cover of Civilization’s Dying by Zero Boys is as good a reason as any for me to stay into them. It’s a good song that’d be hard to fuck up as evidenced by Leeway’s equally good cover off the “Punk Rock Jukebox” comp some 15 years ago. “Tarred and Feathered” is worth picking up for this song alone. The other two covers? Yeah I mean they’re both good… just not sure who the hell they’re originally by…Nasty Secretary by Joy Ryder and Avis Davis and Early Morning Wake Up Call by Flash and the Pan??? Umm okay. Could you get a little more obscure? Or maybe it’s just me and these are two well known songs that I missed the boat on? Doesn’t matter. They’re both good and more reason to pick this up.
So if you come away from reading this review with anything at all remember this…it ain’t easy bein’ cheezy mutha fuckahs!
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