Howlin' Pelle Almqveist, lead singer for The Hives [ tickets ], knows his dapper band can't often be everywhere its fans want it to be.

Almqveist, along with Nicholaus Arson, Chris Dangerous, Dr. Matt Destruction and Vigilante Carlstroem, have toured so widely that they're unable to hit cities worldwide with any frequency.

"Since we're kind of equally popular all over the world, it takes us so long to get back to a place once we've been there," Almqveist said. "That's why we thought we'd make a DVD: so people have something to cuddle up to when they miss us too much."

The result is the recently released live DVD "Tussles in Brussels," which features a 30-minute film titled "DW Johnson's The Hives, Hinduism and Me," narrated by Little Steven. The DVD also showcases a 64-minute live show, as well as a collection of Hives videos, including the rarities "A Little More for a Little You" and "Abra Cadaver."

liveDaily: Where are you calling from?

Howlin' Pelle Almqveist: New York. I'm here doing interviews for the DVD thing and I'm supposed to do some Christmas shopping.

Tell me about the DVD. You filmed it in Belgium, correct?

Yes. We filmed the concert a long time ago. It was only recently that we decided to put it out and make something of it. We were working on it all through the summer. There's a movie on it that took awhile to make. It's cool. It's a bit extra compared to your average live-concert DVD.

How did you decide which songs to include?

We just kind of recorded a show and whatever songs we played, we played. Whatever songs we recorded that night ended up on the DVD. We figured that would be more representative then picking the perfect set list.

Have you started working on new material?

We just started, actually. We just got back from our last tour [in support of 2004's "Tyrannosaurus Hives"]. It sounds like the new album is going to be great. I'm really happy about making a new record. We usually tour for too long. We toured for three years because we never got sick of the songs. This time, we decided to tour for just a year and a half--half as much, to basically get a record done as soon as we could.

You didn't get sick of your own songs after three years?

No. We've actually worked hard to get where we are. It doesn't feel like work. This is the first band any of us have ever been in. We've been in it since we were 14. We're the youngest veterans you've met. We were successful after we had the band for six years. I guess I'm glad, but I do think that we're a really good band; we should be successful.

Who's producing the album?

We're not sure. We're going to have some songs finished before we pick a producer. That way, we can see if they have any ideas. We're going to make music first and make the logical progression.

When do you think the album will be released?

Next year, we'll probably put the record out. We're going to work on it until we're done. It will be awhile before we tour again.

What is the music like in your hometown of Stockholm, Sweden?

It's good. There are a lot of good bands and a lot of bands come there. Saturday Hot Nights and Moneybrother are some of the best bands in the world right now. There's so many good bands there for such a small town. I would love to hear more Swedish bands [break through to a bigger audience]. Seriously, there are tons of good bands. But I like The Strokes and The White Stripes, too. I'm friends with them. I really like them as people. We had a Stockholm-Detroit bowling tournament and I lost to Jack [White]. He's very competitive, you know.