Yesterday, on the eve of the release of their new studio album, Hives frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist came out and said he thought the current climate of rock music was “pretty shit.”
Obviously Queens of the Stone Age are exempt from that category, as the desert rockers’ linchpin- the ginger Elvis himself, Josh Homme (last seen spruiking Scissor Sisters’ new album) has helped produce and record several b-sides for the new Hives LP.
Rolling Stone reports the deluxe edition of Lex Hives, the band’s first new record in five years, features bonus tracks that were recorded at Homme’s Pink Duck studio in the San Fernando Valley, including some guitar-work from the QOTSA frontman himself.
Almqvist, speaking to Rolling Stone said he leapt at the opportunity to work with Homme, “Being fans of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss and Eagles of Death Metal and so forth, we basically just wanted to talk about the Misfits with our friend and steal his recording tricks!”
“Basically if you have the best of American rock and the best of European rock in a room together,” he added, “you owe it to the cosmos to make some music happen.”
The first of the two Homme-cultivated songs, “Insane”, is a cover of The Dragtones, a Swedish rockabilly act which co-incidentally features Hives guitarist Vigilante Carlstroem in the line-up. While “High School Shuffle”, is a distinct mix of glam rock shapes and classic 50s-influenced licks.
Almqvist has already hailed their new material their best yet, calling the forthcoming LP, “probably our most classic rock’n’roll album… I think the gods of rock’n’roll are smiling on us at the moment.”
Lex Hives is the Swedish rockers’ fifth studio album, a self-produced collection of twelve tracks, and their first record in five years since 2007′s Black And White Hives.
Get a taste of the Homme/Hives collabs (courtesy of RCRDLBL and Rolling Stone below:
