Lex Hives
| Lex Hives | ||||
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| Released | 1 June 2012 | |||
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| Length | 31:14 | |||
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| The Hiveschronology | ||||
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| SinglesfromLex Hives | ||||
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Lex Hivesis the fifth studio album by SwedishrockbandThe Hives,released on 1 June 2012 through Disques Hives,Universal Music,andColumbia Records.It was self-produced by The Hives andmixedbyAndrew Scheps,with two additional tracks mixed byDave Sardyand Joe Zook. The deluxe version features bonus tracks (digital download only) produced byQueens of the Stone AgefrontmanJosh Homme.[1]It became the last album from the band to feature bassistDr. Matt Destructionas he left for health reasons in late 2013 and was replaced byRandybassist Johan Gustafsson, who adopted the stage name "The Johan and Only."[2]
The term "Lex Hives" is a phrase derived from the ancient Roman practice of enacting a system or body of laws and accepting them as a standard.[3]
Background
[edit]After recording two albums (Tyrannosaurus Hives,The Black and White Album) for theUniversal Music Group'sInterscopelabel, the band did not want to extend the deal, and so the band found themselves as free agents. The Hives responded by goingindependentfor their fifth album.Lex Hiveswas self-funded and self-produced, and has been issued on the band's ownDisques Hivesimprint.[4]
As for why the band took five years between albums, frontmanHowlin' Pelle Almqvistnoted the group toured for nearly three years afterThe Black and White Album,but added that self-producing an album with a five-piece band is not the quickest of ways to reach a consensus. "We thought it would be faster if we produced it ourselves as opposed to scheduling it with someone who’s busy 24-7, 365 days per year," Almqvist said. "Rather than squeeze in some studio time, we could go into the studio whenever we wanted. It turns out that having five producers who have an equal say of everything isn’t that fast. You’d think we could have guessed that in advance."[4][5]
For promotion, The Hives initiated a contest on social networking websiteFacebookon 23 March 2012. A news update on their official website revealed the song titles on 12 tracks however they were purposely jumbled up. Fans had to post their guesses as to what they thought the tracks were called on the band's official Facebook page. It stated that the first person to unscramble all the song titles correctly would"receive a phone call from The Hives."[6]The band announced the grand prize winner and 17 runners-up on their Facebook page on 6 April 2012.
Reception
[edit]The album debuted at number 7 on the Swedish chart, 20 on the Swiss chart, 38 on the Austrian chart, 38 on the Australian chart and 53 on theCanadian Albums Chart.[7][8][9][10]
The album received generally favorable reviews from critics.[11]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 69/100[11] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Consequence of Sound | C–[12] |
| Pitchfork | 4.8/10[13] |
| Punknews.org |  [14] |
| Rolling Stone |  [15] |
| Spin | 7/10[16] |
| NME | [17] |
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written byRandy Fitzsimmonsexcept 13 and 14
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come On!" | 1:09 |
| 2. | "Go Right Ahead" | 3:06 |
| 3. | "1000 Answers" | 2:07 |
| 4. | "I Want More" | 2:52 |
| 5. | "Wait a Minute" | 3:02 |
| 6. | "Patrolling Days" | 4:01 |
| 7. | "Take Back the Toys" | 2:54 |
| 8. | "Without the Money" | 1:54 |
| 9. | "These Spectacles Reveal the Nostalgics" | 1:57 |
| 10. | "My Time Is Coming" | 2:34 |
| 11. | "If I Had a Cent" | 2:01 |
| 12. | "Midnight Shifter" | 3:37 |
| Total length: | 31:14 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "High School Shuffle" (Alex Carole and The Crush cover) | 3:02 |
| 14. | "Insane" (The Dragtones cover) | 2:47 |
| Total length: | 37:03 | |
Notes
- 1.^Both bonus tracks (13, 14) are cover songs, but are directly related to one of The Hives' members in some way. "High School Shuffle" is a cover of an Alex Carole and The Crush song that was produced byChris Dangerous(drums). "Insane" is a cover of The Dragtones' original, andVigilante Carlstroem(guitar) is a member of that band.[18]
- 2.^"Go Right Ahead"has songwriting also credited toJeff Lynneas the band got permission to include a similar riff toElectric Light Orchestra's "Don't Bring Me Down".[19][20][21]
Personnel
[edit]The Hives
- Howlin' Pelle Almqvist– vocals, vocoder
- Nicholaus Arson– lead guitar, backing vocals
- Vigilante Carlstroem– rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Dr. Matt Destruction– bass guitar
- Chris Dangerous– drums
Additional musicians and personnel[22]
- Gustav Bendt – saxophone
- Per Ruskträsk Johansson – saxophone
- Jonas Kullhammar– saxophone
- Henrik Alsér engineer
- Michael Ilbert – engineer
- Karl Larsson – engineer
- Dagge Lundquist – engineer
- Johan Gustavsson – engineer
- Kalle Gustavsson – engineer
- Justin Smith – engineer
- Janne Hansson – engineer
- Linn Fijal – assistant engineer
- Jeff Lynne– composer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Andrew Scheps– mixing
- Joe Zook – mixing
- Josh Homme– producer(13–14)
Charts
[edit]| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] | 38 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] | 38 |
| Belgian Albums (UltratopFlanders)[25] | 126 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[26] | 47 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] | 25 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] | 7 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] | 20 |
| UK Albums(OCC)[30] | 71 |
| USBillboard200[31] | 84 |
Notes
[edit]- ^Tracks 13 and 14
References
[edit]- ^"The Hives Return With New Album Lex Hives on June 5th".The Audio Perv. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-11-02.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^Gustafsson replaces Bernvall in 2013 as Bernvall leaves for health reasonsrollingstone.com Retrieved:2014-03-29
- ^"The Hives Return With 'Lex Hives' Album in June".Diffuser.fm. 2012-03-12.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^ab"The Hives promise to be as Hives as humanly possible".LA Times.6 April 2012.Retrieved9 April2012.
- ^"The Law of The Hives".FMQB. 3 April 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 26 April 2012.Retrieved9 April2012.
- ^"The Hives Broadcasting Service".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-05-12.Retrieved2012-03-24.
- ^"The Hives - Lex Hives".swedishcharts.com.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^"The Hives - Lex Hives".hitparade.ch.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^"The Hives - Lex Hives".austriancharts.at. 2012-06-15.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^"CANOE - JAM! Music - SoundScan Charts".Jam.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on December 26, 2004.Retrieved2012-09-02.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ab"Lex Hives by The Hives".Metacritic.Retrieved2017-09-10.
- ^LeBlanc, Gilles (2012-06-06)."Album Review: The Hives – Lex Hives".Consequence of Sound.Retrieved2017-09-10.
- ^Minsker, Evan (2012-06-07)."The Hives: Lex Hives Album Review".Pitchfork.Retrieved2017-09-10.
- ^Greg (2012-06-15)."The Hives - Lex Hives".Punknews.org.Retrieved2017-09-10.
- ^Eddy, Chuck (2012-06-05)."Lex Hives".Rolling Stone.Retrieved2017-09-10.
- ^Martins, Chris (2012-06-01)."The Hives, 'Lex Hives' (Disques Hives)".Spin.Retrieved2017-09-10.
- ^MacBain, Hamish (2012-06-01)."Lex Hives".NME.Retrieved2023-02-27.
- ^"Song Premiere: The Hives, 'Insane' | Music News".Rolling Stone. 2012-05-31.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^"JUICEOnline.com » The Hives: Law of the Hives".Msn.juiceonline.com. 2012-05-07. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-07-14.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^"Wahnsinn mit Methode - Interviews - Musik - 1LIVE".Einslive.de.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^"The Current Interview with Howlin' Pelle Almqvist of the Hives!".The Current.1 June 2012.Retrieved2 June2012.
- ^Phares, Heather (2012-06-05)."Lex Hives - The Hives: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards".AllMusic.Retrieved2012-09-02.
- ^"Australiancharts.com – The Hives – Lex Hives".Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^"Austriancharts.at – The Hives – Lex Hives"(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^"Ultratop.be – The Hives – Lex Hives"(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^"Lescharts.com – The Hives – Lex Hives".Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^"Offiziellecharts.de – The Hives – Lex Hives"(in German).GfK Entertainment Charts.Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^"Swedishcharts.com – The Hives – Lex Hives".Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^"Swisscharts.com – The Hives – Lex Hives".Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^"Official Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^"The Hives Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.Retrieved 2 May 2021.
