The Hives announce first new album in over a decade and share single ‘Bogus Operandi’
The Hives have announced their first new album in over a decade, ‘The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons’, and shared lead single ‘Bogus Operandi’ — check it out below.
The Swedish rock band will release ‘The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons’ on August 11, 2023, via Fuga — you can pre-order the album here.
The announcement arrives with the release of opening track ‘Bogus Operandi’, complete with a horror music video directed by Aube Perrie (Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion).
Listen to the new track below.
“There’s no maturity or anything like that bullshit, because who the fuck wants mature rock’n’roll?,” frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist said of the new album in a press statement.
“That’s always where people go wrong, I feel. ‘It’s like rock’n’roll but adult,’ nobody wants that! That’s literally taking the good shit out of it. Rock’n’roll can’t grow up, it is a perpetual teenager and this album feels exactly like that, which it’s all down to our excitement — and you can’t fake that shit.”
The album announcement comes ahead of a spring UK/EU arena tour with Arctic Monkeys, along with UK festival dates and a string of intimate album in-store performances.
“As the album’s macabre title hints, the band’s extended absence from the studio has been no hiatus but rather a horror story,” a press release reads.
“The Hives now admit they have not seen nor spoken to their founder, mentor and songwriter, the perpetual limelight-shunning Randy Fitzsimmons, since the release of 2012’s Lex Hives. Following the recent discovery of a hidden away obituary and cryptic poem in the local paper of the Northern Vastmanland town where The Hives are from, the band members were led to Fitzsimmons’ tombstone.
“Upon digging the freshly interred ground, the band found not a body but instead several tapes, suits, and a piece of paper bearing the words “The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons” typed up as if a title. Whether a hoax or Fitzsimmons’ opening gambit, remains to be seen. The uncovered tapes included the demos that would become the twelve new songs on ‘The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons’.
The new record will be available to purchase as a gatefold, glow-in-the-dark vinyl, which will be limited edition and available only via the band’s D2C (direct-to-consumer) store.
Check out the tracklist and album artwork below.
The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons tracklist:
1. Bogus Operandi
2. Trapdoor Solution
3. Countdown To Shutdown
4. Rigor Mortis Radio
5. Stick Up
6. Smoke & Mirrors
7. Crash Into The Weekend
8. Two Kinds Of Trouble
9. The Way The Story Goes
10. The Bomb
11. What Did I Ever Do To You?
12. Step Out Of The Way
You can check out Artic Monkeys’ UK and Ireland tour dates, where The Hives and The Mysterines will open as “special guests”, here.
The band will also play some festival dates and intimate album in-store performances in Bristol (May 30), Pryzm in Kingston (June 6) and Nottingham (June 22). Tickets go on sale from individual retailers on May 4.
The Hives are also set to perform a show at The Garage in London on June 13. Pre-sale access for the show will be available to fans who pre-order the album from the band’s D2C store before May 9. Fan pre-sale takes place on May 10, with general tickets set to go live from Friday, May 12.
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Hollie Geraghty
NME
