Veni Vidi Vicious
American punk rock seems to get more watered down with each passing year. Leave it to the Swedes to remind the USA that we were once the home of theStoogesand theMC5. The Hives'Veni Vidi Viciousowes its very being to Detroit's punk genesis; they may be decades too late, but the Hives capture the zeal and fury perfectly.  "Die, All Right," an angry rant against capitalism, spikes the aural brew with frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist's nasty nasal shouts. Just as rocking is "Hate to Say I Told You So," which boasts a clunky punk groove and delightfully dark lyrics such as "Do what I please gonna spread the disease because I wanna / Gonna call all the shots for theno's and thenot's."Veni Vidi Viciousclocks in at just under half an hour--a perfectly timed charge of codeine-meets-caffeine and decibels-meets-delicious-rock.--Jason Josephes