Music: Meet The Hives

Proving that Harold Bloom's literary theories apply to rock, the Hives now sound like a sincere misinterpretation of the bands they loved. The blazing three-chord song structures on Veni Vidi Vicious, the Hives' debut American album (released in April), are so imitative--of the Ramones, the Sonics, the Stooges, you name it--that the album would be plagiaristic if not for Pelle's elastic voice, which travels to incredible peaks to rip off Little Richard. Are they better than the classics they imitate? No. But the songs are awfully catchy--and the Hives aren't kidding themselves, either. On Main Offender, Pelle sings, "Stuck in ways of sadistic joy/ My talent only goes so far as to annoy."

Where the Hives are original is in their sense of irony about the performance of rock 'n' roll in the 21st century. They may have large gaps in their musical education, but they're fluent in American pop culture. Kids in Sweden learn English starting in the third grade, but the Almqvist brothers got a head start from Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Saturday Night Live reruns, which aired incessantly on Swedish television. SNL turned out to be a major influence. "They had both music and smart comedy," says Nicholaus. "And sometimes smart comedy is the best way to have a reference point about what's going on in real life."

As performers, the Almqvists have more than a little Blues Brothers in them. Their music is by no means a joke, but entertaining the audience is as much a part of their ethic as writing songs. "Music for us was always about excitement," says Nicholaus. "It's not supposed to be about getting a crappy childhood out of your system. It's about having a crazy time." Almost 50 years after Bill Haley, rock audiences have had lots of crazy times, but they long to repeat the great experiences of the past--hence the interest in classic-rock radio, Woodstock '99 and Lenny Kravitz--without feeling like a bunch of retro losers. The Hives' reckless, joyful punk evokes nostalgia for an era the band's young listeners missed out on, while the suits, T shirts and the best ironic song titles in recent memory--The Hives Are Law You Are Crime and Hail Hail Spit n' Drool--are an innovation that gives them a legitimate claim of ownership on something new.

The best way to catch the Hives is in concert. Pelle, who has the slender androgynous look of the young Mick Jagger, oozes star power, while Nicholaus dances like a madman and plays flawless guitar. Their stage banter is hysterical. Pelle cranks up his Swedish accent to explain to the audience why the Hives' sets are so short: "We have been told by the government of the U.S.A. that we cannot play for more than 45 minutes. It would be dangerous to the youth." After a particularly slick guitar performance, Nicholaus grabs the mike and, in full-on Swedish tourist mode, says, "Don't be shy, Shee-cago! You know I'm the forgking best!" They're just a couple of wild and crazy guys.