“Rock ‘n’ roll is a perpetual teenager”. So maintains The Hives’ frontman, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist. Indeed, across their first album in over a decade, the Swedish garage-rockers sound as gutsy, potent and fiery as they did on their sophomore record Veni Vidi Vicious, back in 2000.

Taking an if-its-not-broke-don’t-fix-it approach, The Hives are retailing the same blend of Swedish punk and 60’s garage-rock. The premise of the album is comic book wonderful, continuing the legendary myth that The Hives were sired by the lime-light shunning Randy Fitzsimons, their mentor and sole songwriter.

After the release of Lex Hives in 2012, Randy disappeared, imposing an unwanted hiatus on the band. Discovering an obituary to their Svengali in a provincial newspaper, the group embarked on a macabre search for his grave. Upon locating it, they naturally dug it up, finding buried there not a body, but rather demo tapes, lightning bolt suits and the title of their record – The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons.

The brilliance of that conceit is more than matched musically. Lead single ‘Bogus Operandi’ is a mighty stew of Sabbathesque riffing, Stooges-style vocals and Beastie Boys attitude. ‘Trapdoor Solution’ would fit snugly on an SST Records compilation, while the garage-rock revival duo of ‘Countdown To Shutdown’ and ‘Crash Into The Weekend’ both suck diesel.

Elsewhere, ‘Rigor Mortis Radio’ is a Misfits-flavoured slice of horror-punk, while ‘Stick Up’ conjures The Doors by way of arch electro-punks, Suicide. A top-notch cocktail.

8/10