THE HIVES - "THE BLACK AND WHITE ALBUM"

Sweden's garage-rock revitalists, The Hives, have returned with their 4th release. Fans of their raunchy, in-your-face, "take that!" sort of sound will likely jump right into this one, though they have expanded the sound beyond their usual "1-2-3-4 go!" approach. Case in point, the somewhat disco-rock feel to the track "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.". Side note: a title such as that one should be nothing new to Hives fans..since they often refer to themselves in the first person. On stage, frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist regularly states things along the lines of "The Hives have come to take over your life. You love the Hives". So all in all, another solid Hives record, and perhaps their danciest yet.

SIGUR RÓS – “HVAR/HEIM”

Sigur Rós, in case you don’t yet know them, are an Icelandic band who have won the hearts of music fans worldwide since 2000. Their haunting orchestral arrangements, coupled with vocalist Jonsi Birgisson’s falsetto vocals, make for a pretty cerebral listening experience, especially in a live concert setting. I was lucky enough to see them play in a church during the 2001 Iceland Airwaves Festival, and I don’t think I’ll experience a more moving show ever again. This is not a new album per-se, but 2 EP’s packaged together. EP #1, “Hvar” is 5 songs that never made it onto previous Sigur Rós albums, and EP #2, “Heim” is 6 songs from past records, only these are new unplugged versions of them. This is all to accompany a new Sigur Rós concert film, called “Heima”, which was shot at various locations throughout Iceland last summer..at various un-announced shows in non-music venues, mostly outdoors, in the nighttime summer daylight up there near the Arctic Circle. It’s a must-have for Sigur Rós fans, and I can’t wait to see the film.

ROBYN HITCHCOCK - "I WANNA GO BACKWARDS" BOXSET

UK's Robyn Hitchcock has long been a favorite of mine. He began in the late 70's/early 80's postpunk scene with his band The Softboys, on through the 80's & 90's with Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians, and various other incarnations and solo material, which continues today. His wonderfully quirky and surrealist songwriting & signature jangly guitar sound has been his calling card, and is present in nearly all of his now massive repertoire. Note, though, that this boxset is NOT a best-of, or greatest hits collection. Instead, it's a reissue of 3 of his classic post-Softboys records: 1981's "Black Snake Diamond Role", 1984's "I Often Dream Of Trains", and 1990's "Eye". The set also includes "While Thatcher Mauled Britain Parts 1 & 2" (yes, he has a keen, yet off-kiltered political sense) which is a collection of previously unreleased b-sides, studio outtakes, and home recordings. So, it's mostly for Hitchcock fans and completeists. To check him out and see if you like him, I recommend his "Greatist Hits" set from 1996. To see Robyn in action, click below to watch our feature that aired last year on "Metromix" (damn, I needed a haircut!), while he was touring his latest full-length album, "Ole Tarantula".

TOKYO POLICE CLUB - "SMITH" EP

Not quite as brazen or cocky as The Hives, Tokyo Police Club is a Toronto garage rock outfit. Their debut record from last year, “A Lesson In Crime” was well received, and they’ve become known for explosive live shows (which include blowing the roof off of Schuba’s a few times over the past year). They just finished up some studio time recording their next record..but this EP can tie you over until that one sees the light of day..and it includes a UK B-side, and one track that was previously only available on vinyl. Since it’s an EP, this is a cheap way to check them out and see if you dig.