Despite earning numerous festival appearances, global tours in support of acts such as Coldplay and The Strokes, and a well-received album in the form of 2020s The Prettiest Curse, Hinds were in realistic danger of succumbing to the Covid era. By the time the planet fully emerged from its slumber in 2022, the Spanish lo-fi garage rock group were, like so many others, heavily impacted by lost touring revenue and were soon dropped by their management and record label. To further compound their misery, rhythm section Ade Martin and Amber Grimbergen later announced their departures from the band.
In the context of this dodging of a bona fide career bullet, it’s rather pleasing to see Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote – now joined by tourmates Paula Ruiz on bass and Maria Lazaro on drums – meet with tonight’s sold-out audience. Opener ‘Hi, How Are You?’ (perhaps a nod to Daniel Johnston) sees Cosials and Perrote vocally trade verses and Hinds’ trademark unpolished but spirited vocals burst forth between Cosials’ chugging, muted guitar.
‘The Club’ is built upon a sprightly, surf-rock adjacent riff, Cosials getting ample mileage from simple lead guitar lines and Perrotte a mass of hopping, swaying energy as she attacks her barre chords. During ‘New For You’ – another from 2018’s I Don’t Run – it’s Perrote’s turn to deliver simple lead riffs while Lazaro’s holding off from her snare at the end to each chorus results in a nicely energetic moment where her three bandmates hop in unison at a resumption of the beat.
“It’s a very packed room for a Monday night”, Perrote says, “This show has been sold out since 1994.” Cosials, the thicker Madrid accent of the two, then prompts a member of the audience to recall that Hinds last played on this stage in 2018. Taking a straw poll, Perrote gauges that many in the crowd are new to the Hinds live experience and suggests they “better do a good job.”
Cowritten and performed with Beck on latest album Viva Hinds, ‘Boom Boom Back’ is a standout of the newer material. It’s propelled by an infectiously catchy three chord guitar motif and Ruiz – arguably revealing herselfas the group’s most natural vocalist – adroitly sings the Beck allocated verse from the record. ‘Coffee’, another track from Viva, is a frothy, bounce along ditty that has Perrote extolling the joys of “flowers from boys I’m not sleeping with.”
Hinds’ on-stage energy captures the heady ethos of punk and, considering the rudimentary chug of barre chords, the easy robustness of their rhythm section and the simplicity of their lead guitar, this aligns with a DIY musical ethic. Forgoing any pretensions to virtuosity or technical brilliance, Hinds economically wield their abilities into fun tunes and something like high-spirited gang mentality.
However, alongside the Beck collaboration, the fact that Fontaines D.C frontman Grian Chattan cowrote and performed ‘Strangers’ on their recent album, respect is due for Hinds’ uncanny knack for melodies that impossibly manage to be both memorable and trashy. Here, ‘Strangers’ offers an airy change of pace, as Corsial lightly arpeggiates behind Perrotes’ reverbed cry of a guitar line, and Ruiz again proves a decent replacement for guest vocalists in delivering Chattan’s verse.
Embodied by the fact that Cosial looks thoroughly delighted at the end of nearly every tune, Hinds have a colossal likeability factor. The two frontwomen give kudos to Bristol and a ‘champion’ Sunday roast enjoyed at an eatery on Champion Square. Meanwhile, staunch smoker Cosials amusingly describes being approached by a man from the City Council and suffering some tricky to answer questions as to the exact nature of her method of fag butt disposal.
Though the level of enjoyment projected from the stage is clear, there’s something darker and deeper within the Hinds’ mindset. Cosial and Perrote joke about creating a fanzine called ‘How Hinds Died’ and, ahead of ‘Superstar,’ they earnestly relay to the audience a disquietude upon others relating to sad songs they authored (“Like, if you connect to this, you’re fucked” offers Perrote). Also, we hear a response to the no doubt infernal question as to what it’s like being a girl in a band with the caustic lyrics of ‘Just Like Kids (Miau)’ – You’re too pink to be admired/And too punk to be desired.’
Tonight’s convivial mood spikes with a joyful final stretch; Cosial plays a few chords while perched high on Perrote’s shoulders, there are choreographed muscle poses, and a raucous cover of The Clash’s ‘Spanish Bombs.’ Support act Clutter – and even tour manager Matt on guitar – join for the final song, a cover of Thee Headcoatees’ ‘Davy Crockett’. Cosial and Perrote spill into the audience, hand out microphones to volunteer singers and perform a couple of elaborate ballroom dancemoves.
Hinds not only survived the pandemic. As per tonight’s evidence, they’re a vital unit that thrives in ‘25.
Scott Hammond