Remember when you cracked open that first underage beer with all the mischievous and carefree snickering that went along with it?
Well, the endearingly charming girl-gang garage-rock quartet Hinds epitomizes that carefree feeling of youthful recklessness. Based in Madrid, the band originally formed out of a project called Deers between guitarists Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote.
A couple of years later, the duo changed their name and added Ade Martín (bass) and Amber Grimbergen (drums) to round out the line-up. ‘Leave Me Alone’ comes fresh off the heels of the New Year, and one thing is clear – these ladies aren’t partaking in Dry January.
Album opener ‘Garden’ is a smooth chamber rev that stumbles into steady and inviting rhythm which chugs along with jangly guitars. Its garage aesthetic has the vibe of an early Black Lips record, but the band often balances their ruckus with a casual easygoing feel. The shambolic victorious sound of the bar after last call can be heard on ‘Easy’ as Pixies-esque lead guitar parts triumphantly sky over a woozy groove.
The previously released ‘Castigadas En El Granero’ begins with sedated guitar strums before eventually rumbling into a thrilling and frantic cruise down the countryside. It is pure nonsensical fun at its finest and, although these four aren’t the tightest musicians to ever play, they do display a tasteful knack in songwriting and arrangement. The rhythm section of Martin and Grimbergen takes a detour driving the track down a hazy southern California beach inspired bridge before ripping into the song’s final chorus.
When the band steps out of their garage they still sound just as good. The twaggy and swampy ‘Bamboo’ adds a unique psychedelic flavor to the album – its jingle-jangle tie-dyed guitar strums would sound perfectly at home at Spike Island in 1990. Linking the front side to the back is the gloomy instrumental intermission ‘Solar Gap.’ The cavernous production allows the guitar tremolos to twinkle and shimmer with a subtle air of romance. Hinds aren’t the most eclectic band out there, but they when they do dip their feet into more complex sounds and arrangements the results are encouraging.
Beyond the shambolic musical delivery, Cosials and Perrote’s coyish vocal interplay is the distinctive element that makes this debut so much fun. This is heard no more so than on the frustrated lovelorn ‘Fat Calmed Kiddos‘ as the duo whip and jump in and out of each others lines with a vexing but playful pucker. Elsewhere, on the album’s best pure pop song ‘Warts’, Perrote’s frizzy vocals and Cosials deadpan delivery exquisitely mesh over a breezy chilled out bob. Carefree and jubilant, one can’t help but sing along to the irresistible, “Ba-da-ba-da-ba-ba-ba’s”, refrain. The pair’s magnetic chemistry embodies that feeling of friendship in your youth, but it’s their inclusive nature that makes them and their songs so damn enjoyable.
Much of ‘Leave Me Alone’ deals with the recklessness and contradictory nature of young love, but Hinds don’t try to untangle these questions. Instead, they bask in the raw emotion and smirk at the irony of those feelings. ‘Kiddos’ deals with desperation, ‘I’ll Be Your Man’ is a proclamation, and the chamber-pop influenced ‘And I Will Send Your Flowers Back’ is tired and fed up.
Yet on the swaying surf-tinged standout ‘Chili Town’, the ladies sardonically flirt back at the presence of love with a seemingly blithe attitude, a biting sense of yearning when they sing, “All that I’m asking for is you to make a move!”, and on the scuzzy, fuzzy ‘San Diego’ the pair make their demands more apparent. “So why don’t you just take my hand, stay close to me or know I’ll die’, they exclaim. Youth and love have no time for indecisiveness. Although their hearts may be longing, Hinds understand this sentiment as they prance their way through the heartbroken, beer stained chaos of young adulthood.
“How many secrets you have that keep you smiling that way?” asks Cosials on the opening line to ‘Leave Me Alone’. By the time the spunky island infused closer ‘Walking Home’ comes around its clear Hinds aren’t too fussed about finding out what those secrets are. They’d rather have a good time, and as the album closes with the exuberant coda ‘You’re The Love Of My Life’, it seems although love and young life may be messy, that won’t stop these four from smiling and having a good time.
‘Leave Me Alone’ invites and saves you a spot on the patchy sofa in a dimly lit basement. So crack open a few beers, take a few drags, grab a few friends and enjoy the night.
Because isn’t having fun what life and love is all about?