Tickets are now available for 30yrs of The Garage: The Hives, at The Garage!
Swedish rock’n’roll heroes The Hives return this summer for 30yrs of The Garage: The Hives with their first studio album in over a decade. Today, the band announces The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons out August 11th, 2023 via world-leading music distributor FUGA.
The announcement is paired with the release of the album’s muscular opening track ‘Bogus Operandi’, whose insistent and incendiary yet suave sound fizzes with the wild energy that has become the legendary band’s calling card and sets the tone for the project as a whole. The song’s thrilling, gory and downright stylish music video is directed by Aube Perrie (Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion) – watch here.
The announcement and new single precede a spring UK/EU arena tour with the Arctic Monkeys, as well as UK festival dates and intimate album in-store performances. The intimate shows are in Bristol and Nottingham (Rough Trade), and Prysm in Kingston (Banquet Records). Tickets are available from those retailers from May 4th. The band will also perform a very special underplay show at The Garage London. Fans will need to preorder the album from the band’s official UK webstore before 2pm on May 9th for access to an exclusive ticket presale for this show. Fan presale then takes place on May 10th, with tickets going on general sale Friday, May 12th.
As the album’s macabre title hints, The Hive’s extended absence from the studio has been no hiatus but rather a horror story. 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.
Of the new album, frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist declares, “There’s no maturity or anything like that bullshit, because who the fuck wants mature rock’n’roll? 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.”
Bassist The Johan And Only joins Chris Dangerous , Vigilante Carlstroem, Nicholaus Arson, and Howlin’ Pelle as a full member of The Hives following the departure of Dr Matt Destruction. Producer Patrik Berger captures the band’s punk energy and propensity for hits with his own roots in the Swedish punk scene and pop credentials including with Lana Del Rey, Robyn, and Charli XCX.
The album comes available as gatefold, glow in the dark vinyl, including a poster – limited edition D2C only.
In the twenty-five years since The Hives exploded around the world, they have sold out stadiums and shared stages with everyone from AC/DC to The Rolling Stones. They have sold millions of albums world-wide with multiple RIAA Gold-certifications. In the time since Lex Hives, the band has released 2019’s double A-side ‘I’m Alive’/’Good Samaritan’ as well as a live album via Third Man Records, and embarked on a series of global tours. The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons marks a true renaissance.
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