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The Hives announce first album in over ten years

By | Published on Thursday 4 May 2023

The Hives

The Hives have announced that they will release their first studio album in over a decade, ‘The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons’, this summer. Its first single ‘Bogus Operandi’ is out now.

The title references the apparent death of the band’s supposed mentor, manager and songwriter, Randy Fitzsimmons. So the story goes, the band had not seen or heard of him since the release of their 2012 album ‘Lex Hives’. They recently discovered an obituary and cryptic poem in the local paper of the Northern Vastmanland, where the band formed.

Returning to the town, they discovered a freshly filled grave topped with Fitzsimmon’s tombstone. Like anyone would in such a situation, they dug up the grave and discovered, not a body, but tapes of new songs, a set of suits, and a piece of paper bearing the words ‘The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons’.

Did any of this actually happen? I think we all know the answer to that. Also, I think we also know the answer to the question of whether or not The Hives have matured in the last decade. But just in case, here’s frontman Howlin Pelle Almqvist to let you know: “There’s no maturity or anything like that bullshit, because who the fuck wants mature rock n roll?”

“That’s always where people go wrong, I feel”, he goes on. “‘It’s like rock n roll but adult’ – nobody wants that! That’s literally taking the good shit out of it. Rock n roll can’t grow up, it is a perpetual teenager and this album feels exactly like that, which is all down to our excitement – and you can’t fake that shit”.

The album is out on 11 Aug, and The Hives will be supporting the Arctic Monkeys on their UK tour this summer. The band will also play their own headline shows amid that run, as follows:

30 May: Bristol, Fleece
6 Jun: Kingston, Pryzm
13 Jun: London, The Garage
22 Jun: Nottingham, Rescue Room

Watch the video for ‘Bogus Operandi’ here:



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