For a brief period during the early – mid 2000s, lo-fi garage punk seemed like the “the next big thing.” While the genre had been around for years, the White Stripes brought it to the mainstream and achieved huge commercial success, surprisingly with little-to-no commercial polish present. Seriously, those White Stripes recordings from that period sound like they came directly from the Crypt Records catalog. The Hives (from Sweden) were another band from that period everyone expected to be big and while they achieved some recognition, it wasn’t on the level of the Stripes. Still, their music was truly wonderfully grungy stuff. 10 years later, this still packs a punch. And it’s nice to see they’re carrying on the fine Swedish pop band tradition by wearing matching suits.
Dave's Strange World 
At a festival in Gothenberg (anti-drug, anti-drink…it rained, of course) the rather damp mood was lightened by a band introducing themselves individually as the members of the Rolling Stones ! I thought it showed a fine sense of humour. The Hives always reminded me of this band because of a similar humour in their presentation. I would attach The Soundtrack of our Lives single “Sister Surround” if I knew how. A Swedish band from the same time the song is a powerpop classic & some of the band seemed to believe they were actually in the Stones. I really enjoyed the festival but I was with two beautiful Swedish women friends for 2 whole weeks & I was in Sweden…good times.
Thanks for your “likes” Dave. I really do appreciate them & continue to enjoy your posts (Duran Duran !!) .
Enjoy your weekend.
Enjoy yours as well and thanks for the support. I’m married to a woman of Norweigian descent and while the Norweigians and the Swedes have not always gotten along, it hasn’t stopped my spouse from grooving to all things Swedish music-wise from Abba to the Hives. Will definitely need to check out the Soundtrack of our Lives.