Search - The Hives :: Barely Legal

The Best One

Larry F. Fowler Jr. | Aiken, SC United States | 01/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This one is my favorite by the Hives. It's got all the elements that make the Hives great, but this one is more raw than later albums; a bit more chaotic. This one is more in the fast punk vein, but still has that quirky Hives quality to it. This blew my mind the first time I heard it, and 10 years later, it still sounds fresh and vital."

Raw and "Legal"

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 10/01/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Hives are one of the hottest bands around today, mingling Stooges-type punk with acid-penned songwriting. "Barely Legal" is a faster, punkier, nastier, harder album that came before their breakout album "Veni Vidi Vicious." It's immensely good, but it does suffer from an overabundance of soundalike songs.



It opens with a spoken intro to the band, which immediately leaps into a boiling rock song, which is only broken by Howlin Pelle occasionally saying "Well well well!", as if surprised by the band's sound. After that comes the spelling-bee rage of "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T," roaring "Automatic Schmuck," and the well-named "Uptempo Venomous Poison,"



The Hives are not quite the saviors of rock'n'roll -- their music leans on classic punk a bit too much for that. But they might be one day. Where most rock is polished and passionless, the Hives are full of emotion and take-no-cr*p rants against the "mighty mighty man." I'll take that above "my girlfriend left me and I'm sad" rock-pop anyday.



The problem is that the raw, lo-fi instrumentation is a bit too alike from one song to the next -- for example, the drum intro to "Closed For the Season" appears a few songs ago, although in a shorter form. Each one is a boiling, roiling mass of guitar, bass and smashing drums -- incredibly catchy, full of righteous rage, but very similar to the songs around them.



Howlin' Pelle Almqvist lives up to his name here. He has pretty ordinary singing, but really shines when he lets rip with his raw vocals. And their songwriting drips with rebellion and anger. Heck, you don't even have to hear the songs -- just read the titles: "What's that Spell... Go To Hell!", "AKA I-D-I-O-T" and "I'm A Wicked One."



"Barely Legal" isn't quite as good as their breakout album -- it needs a bit more musical variety. But it is the sort of endearingly nasty punk-rock that this Swedish band has become famous for. Definitely recommended."

Barely

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 10/06/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Hives are one of the few true bits of punk music getting attention, mingling Stooges-type punk with acid-penned songwriting. "Barely Legal" is a faster, punkier, nastier, harder album that came before their breakout album "Veni Vidi Vicious." It's immensely good, but it does suffer from an overabundance of soundalike songs.



It opens with a spoken intro to the band, which immediately leaps into a boiling rock song, which is only broken by Howlin Pelle occasionally saying "Well well well!", as if surprised by the band's sound. After that comes the spelling-bee rage of "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T," roaring "Automatic Schmuck," and the well-named "Uptempo Venomous Poison,"



The Hives are not quite the saviors of rock'n'roll -- their music leans on classic punk a bit too much for that. But they might be one day. Where most rock is polished and passionless, the Hives are full of emotion and take-no-cr*p rants against the "mighty mighty man." I'll take that above "my girlfriend left me and I'm sad" rock-pop anyday.



The problem is that the raw, lo-fi instrumentation is a bit too alike from one song to the next -- for example, the drum intro to "Closed For the Season" appears a few songs ago, although in a shorter form. Each one is a boiling, roiling mass of guitar, bass and smashing drums -- incredibly catchy, full of righteous rage, but very similar to the songs around them.



Howlin' Pelle Almqvist lives up to his name here. He has pretty ordinary singing, but really shines when he lets rip with his raw vocals. And their songwriting drips with rebellion and anger. Heck, you don't even have to hear the songs -- just read the titles: "What's that Spell... Go To Hell!", "AKA I-D-I-O-T" and "I'm A Wicked One."



"Barely Legal" isn't quite as good as their breakout album -- it needs a bit more musical variety. But it is the sort of endearingly nasty punk-rock that this Swedish band has become famous for. Definitely recommended."