THE HIVES
The Black And White Album
Polydor
For a while in the early years of this decade, Sweden’s The Hives were ‘Your
Favourite Band’ when British indie legend Alan McGee signed them and
released a compilation album of that name. At the time, The Strokes were the
spiky new-wave band du jour and McGee saw the potential in this five-piece
of Scandinavian crazies. As it transpired, The Hives didn’t explode as
they were expected, but for those who’d followed their career in the
self-supporting Swedish punk scene, they never stopped being the entertaining
court jesters they always were. The Black And White Album picks up where they
left off, with jitterbug rhythms, fuzzy new-wave riffs and shouty choruses
designed for party time. You're left with the impression that The Hives are
quite prepared never to change, come what may.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Magic
Columbia
Old codgers in the music business seem to be doing just fine at the moment – the
Rolling Stones, Paul Bloody McCartney, Neil Young. Add the likes of Pearl Jam
and Foo Fighters joining the – politely – middle-age bracket and
it shows that the record-buying public simply care not a jot for summers passed.
All good news, then, for The Boss – Noo Joisey’s all-American folk
hero Bruce Springsteen. Now almost 60, he’s released Magic. Lead track
and first single Radio Nowhere is a grungey, echo-y anthem that has parallels
to Neil Young’s 1990s foray into grunge with Pearl Jam. Elsewhere, Springsteen
sticks with more down-tempo rock with brass blasts and string laments. Your
Own Worst Enemy is a trudging dirge but the title track is a delicate little
beauty.
RADIOHEAD
In Rainbows
XL Recordings
Now signed to dance imprint XL, Radiohead are no longer the rock behemoths
of 1997, instead fashioning themselves an arty niche in the leftfield. This
is their much-vaunted pay-what-you-like download album commercially released
in ‘proper’ form. 15 Step kicks off with high-tempo, rolling drum’n’bass
rhythms and Thom Yorke sounding as if he’s stubbed his toe. Bodysnatchers
comes along directly to re-establish Radiohead’s guitar-toting skills – it’s
like Smashing Pumpkins on 30 cans of Red Bull. The lilting Nude shows off Yorke’s
talent for elegiac, mournful vocals.
For their more conservatively-minded fans who enjoy little luxuries like choruses,
In Rainbows is a step back towards the right direction. For one of Britain’s
most daring bands, it’s a balance between the straightforward and the
experimental.
James McLaren has wheels of steel