Lest we forget about the Hives, the band has officially released a video of an underrated track off of their latest album, The Black and White Album. "Won't Be Long," which features some wickedly smart lyrics about the trappings of becoming too famous, is most notable for its insane range and innovation in vocals by Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, which goes from Calvin Johnson to Julian Casablancas to Hamilton Leithauser without any hint of predictability. The vocals are backed by some vaguely derivative music recalling "Love Will Tear Us Apart," but the focus is really on Almqvist.
The video for "Won't Be Long" consists of rare and never-before-seen concert footage mixed with footage of The Hives high-tailing it around some major locations. It's a very smart video to release before the band's mini-tour of the U.S., which consists of the following dates:
09.16 Austin, TX: ?Stubb's 09.17 Dallas, TX: ?House of Blues 09.19 Tempe, AZ: ?Marquee Theatre 09.20 San Diego, CA” ?Street Scene 09.21 Anaheim, CA: ?The Grove 09.22 Ventura, CA: ?Ventura Theater 09.23 San Fransisco, CA: ?The Warfield 09.24 Los Angeles, CA: ?The Mayan 09.25 Los Angeles, CA ?:The Mayan
It... sounds nothing like Love Will Tear Us Apart. At all. Not even in texture.
And "vaguely dirivitive", are you kidding? It's one of the freshes tracks I've heard in years, and Pelle is hardly the best part.
John