The Hives – “Bogus Operandi”

Swedish aughts-rock icons the Hives have announced their first new album in more than a decade — since 2012’s Lex Hives. The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons will be out in August and features a swaggering lead single, “Bogus Operandi,” which has a music video directed by Aube Perrie.

According to a press release, the album’s title is a reference to the Hives’ “founder, mentor and songwriter, the perpetual limelight-shunning Randy Fitzsimmons.” (Fitzsimmons is part of the band’s lore, and he may or may not be a real person. Randy Fitzsimmons is also a registered pseudonym for Niklas Almqvist, the Hives’ lead guitarist, so it’s more likely that he’s mythological.)

“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,” the release says. “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 adds: “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.”

Listen to “Bogus Operandi” below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Bogus Operandi”
02 “Trapdoor Solution”
03 “Countdown To Shutdown”
04 “Rigor Mortis Radio”
05 “Stick Up”
06 “Smoke & Mirrors”
07 “Crash Into The Weekend”
08 “Two Kinds Of Trouble”
09 “The Way The Story Goes”
10 “The Bomb”
11 “What Did I Ever Do To You?”
12 “Step Out Of The Way”

TOUR DATES:
05/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
05/11 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
05/16 – New York, NY @ Racket NYC
05/27 – Leeds, UK @ Temple Newsam *
05/29 – Bristol, UK @ Ashton Gate *
05/30 – Bristol, UK @ The Fleece w/ Rough Trade
05/31 – Coventry, UK @ Ricoh Arena *
06/02 – Manchester, UK @ Old Trafford Cricket Ground *
06/03 – Manchester, UK @ Emirates Old Trafford *
06/05 – Middlesbrough, UK @ Middlesbrough FC *
06/06 – London, UK @ PRYZM w/ Banquet Records
06/07 – Norwich, UK @ Carrow Road Stadium *
06/09 – Sheffield, UK @ Hillsborough Park *
06/10 – Sheffield, UK @ Hillsborough Park *
06/12 – Swansea, UK @ Liberty Stadium *
06/13 – London, UK @ The Garage
06/14 – Southampton, UK @ The Ageas Bowl *
06/16 – London, UK @ Emirates Stadium *
06/17 – London, UK @ Emirates Stadium *
06/18 – London, UK @ Emirates Stadium *
06/20 – Dublin, IE @ Marlay Park *
06/22 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Room w/ Rough Trade
06/25 – Glasgow, UK @ Bellahousten Park *
07/15 – Milano, IT @ Ippodromo Del Galoppo Di San Siro
07/16 – Roma, IT @ Ippodromo Capannelle *
07/18 – Athens, GR @ Water Square *
07/19 – Athens, GR @ Plateia Nerou *
08/04 – Göteborg, SE @ Banana Pier
08/05 – Malmö, SE @ Mölleplatsen
08/18 – Rättvik, SE @ Dalhalla
08/19 – Rättvik, SE @ Dalhalla
08/25 – Vången, NO @ Vangen Festivalen
08/26 – Tønsberg, NORWAY @ Foynhagen
* w/ Arctic Monkeys

The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons is out 8/11 via FUGA. Pre-order it here.