By
Chad Taylor
soundcheck@dmcityview.com
 The
Hives
“Lex Hives”
Disque Hives
In 1010 AD, the Persian philosopher Avicenna
wrote some of the first treatises on the dualistic
nature of man. Advancing the thought of Aristotelianism,
Avicenna wrote elegantly about essence versus
existence and is regarded as one of the most
important figures from the Islamic Golden Age.
Fast-forward a millennia, and the opening track
of The Hives’ self-produced “Lex Hives” consists
of repeating the phrase “come on” 70 times in
68 seconds. It’s not exactly advancing the march
of intellectual thought. But what “Lex Hives”
is, however, is loud, fast, unapologetically
poppy and endlessly listenable. Tracks like
“1000 Answers” and “These Spectacles Reveal
the Nostalgics” are frenetic, kinetic walls
of sound that whip through your head in less
than three minutes. The album careens through
punk, ’50s rock and garage pop, and does it
all with panache. Beat that, Avicenna. CV
 Garbage
“Not Your Kind of People”
STUNVOLUME
You would be forgiven for thinking that Garbage
hadn’t released an album in 14 years. After
kicking the door in and announcing their presence
through the overpowering combination of 1995’s
self-titled debut and the unremitting glory
that is Shirley Manson, the band followed up
with 1998’s equally powerful “Version 2.0” at
the tail end of the alt-rock high tide. What
followed were seven years of unfocused mediocrity
and seven more of silence. The silence has been
broken, and the result is like waking up from
a dream and finding your flannel is still in
style. Opening track “Automatic Systematic Habit”
is poppier than you remember them, but tracks
like “Battle In Me” and “Sugar” are right in
the band’s alt-rock wheelhouse. “Not Your Kind
of People” isn’t quite the lightning in a bottle
of the first two albums, but it’s definitely
close enough to make fans happy and hungry for
more. CV
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