If the sell-out Brighton crowd was anything to go by, spats will soon become the discerning indie kid's accessory of choice.

These and a pair of shiny shoes were much in evidence on Saturday night as The Hives' frontman, Howlin Pelle Almqvist, now sporting a cheap porno moustache, leapt onto the bass drum, tested the stability of a stack of amps and disappeared headfirst into the maelstrom of moshing boys.

When the Swedish five-piece released their British debut in 2001, they won their place in the garage rock revival with a combination of substance and style.

While the music was an "I love the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties" package deal, headlines were grabbed by their matching stage suits and Almqvist's curiously inflected banter.

This element of novelty and pastiche could easily have led to the band's early demise amid the indie hardcore.

Instead, they have returned after a five-year hiatus to be greeted by an audience which on Saturday ranged from waving kids through crowd-surfing teens to quietly amused adults.

All were enthusiastic about the set, which hit predictable peaks with the likes of Main Offender, Hate To Say I Told You So and recent single Walk Idiot Walk.

But the real delight was in watching the band's antics, with lead guitarist Nicholas Arson whizzing precariously across the stage like a windup toy on a thick-pile carpet.

You may not need another album of "punk rock avec kaboom" but The Hives will knock your spats off.