The Hives

Since their days as Swedish garage rock stalwarts, the Hives have made an art out of brash, witty rock & roll. Though some of their choices -- a strict black-and-white dress code, the guidance of a (possibly imaginary) Svengali named Randy Fitzsimmons -- could have been gimmicky, they backed them up with explosive live performances and a sound inspired by the Stooges, Sonics, and New Bomb Turks. The speedy tempos of 1997's Barely Legal reflected their punk roots, but there were traces of the swaggering style they perfected on 2000's Veni Vidi Vicious, which featured their quin...