While listening to Tick Tick Boom by The Hives, I slipped into a dream sequence where the band were playing Will Smith’s Boom Shake The Room. I dare say that would have been slightly more entertaining.

I managed to avoid that period in time when bands whose names began with “The” were popular. So, I’m not as jaded as reviewers who are more familiar with The Hives.

While long-term fans of The Hives will think this sounds like everything else they’ve ever released, to the virgin (well, not virgin, but you get the picture) listener it’s an energetic pop-punk workout. Nice, shout-along lyrics to yell with your friends.

The video’s excellent though, featuring the band as oversized exhibits in an art gallery. Kind of reminds me of Ron Meuck’s hyper-realistic sculptures.

While it’s not necessarily the ‘dynamite’ track we were promised, Tick Tick Boom still packs enough of a punch for me to rate it! The track is from the band’s forthcoming Black & White Album.