Hive And Dangerous

Seeing as he does it so well, it’s almost impossible not to think of Hives frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist as something of a loaded spring – a hugely effervescent, twitching ball of spontaneous, infectious energy. Which is why it’s truly jarring to find that, during a phonecall to Hot Press, he’s anything but Howlin’. In fact, he’s having what can only be called a Leonard Cohen ‘moment’…and he’s only out of the bleedin’ shower, according to his publicist.

“I’m like this for a really long time after I get up,” he deadpans by way of explanation. “People call me at 7pm and say, ‘have you just woken up?’ I’d get evicted right away if I talked like I do on stage, ‘cos I’m too loud when I do that.”
After a month-long break, it could well be he’s saving his energy for another stint on the road. Fortunately for all concerned, Almqvist can never be described as ‘reserved’ or ‘reflective’ during the Hives’ blistering live sets. This summer Sweden’s finest will take to the European festival circuit, including appearances at the UK’s V Festival and Ireland’s BudRising. How will those pristine white suits survive, I wonder?
“We don’t wear the suits all the time,” he intones gravely. “We have separate suits so the suits won’t get dirty. We have white shoes, but it’s not too hard to keep them clean in the backstage area.”
Even if the band don’t stay whiter than white, their live sets are as mind-bogglingly high-octane as ever. It’s a wonder that, even after seven years of performing, Almqvist and his band of rather merry men can keep up that kind of momentum.
“It’s not hard ‘cos it’s something you have to do,” he shrugs. “We have too much respect for the music not to keep the energy up. It’s never going to be as hard as having a regular job anyway. We didn’t pace ourselves in the beginning, but we’re getting a little bit better. Still, I don’t think you’re supposed to pace yourself too much.”
Still, seven years amounts to a fairly impressive amount of debauched, on-the-road Spinal Tap moments, I’d wager.
“There are too many moments like that – in fact, it’s like a rollercoaster. There’s one every day,” contends Almqvist. Ooh, do tell!
“One I remember is Nicholaus (Arson, guitarist) jumping over the drum-kit and pulling the cord for the lighting rig so that we were in darkness.”
Glad to see they’re living the dream, then.
Amid all this depraved behaviour, the band has already started working on new material during the gruelling run of the Tyrannosaurus Hives tour.
“From our point of view the last record sounded different to the others, they have their own appeal,” explains Almqvist. “When you start a record, you think it’ll be way different to anything you’ve done, and we’re at that stage now.”
So should we expect Hives: The Prog Album anytime soon then?
“We’ll never go that way,” he shoots back. “No matter if it’s kraut or reggae or punk, we like the notion of the three-minute song. People say we’re stretching boundaries of rock and roll but that’s not what you’re supposed to do. If you say we’re going to do everything on a record, you’re not going to do anything. Music ends up sounding really bland when you’re trying everything out.”

The Hives play the Dublin Ambassador on June 2 as part of BudRising