HINDS
Viva Hinds
(Lucky Number)
Spain's premier girl band turned duo, Hinds, have a new album out. The group's fourth, it's their first since losing their bassist and drummer at the end of 2022.
Having decided to continue following what could have been a career ending split, the song writing duo of Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote announced the new album back in May along with plans for an extensive tour of UK, Europe and North America from September through March. Since then they have released a string of well received singles and now finally, comes the album "Viva Hinds"
Given their recent troubled history it's fair to expect Viva Hinds to be both an opportunity for co-founders, co-vocalists, co-guitarists and co-songwriters Cosials and Perrote to confirm their identity as Hinds, and to build on their reputation as crafters of quirky, catchy, indie pop tunes.
The good news is that there is plenty on Viva Hinds to confirm that the pair have what it takes as songwriters and performers to establish Hinds as regulars on the Indie circuit - not to say the first Spanish band to do so. Unfortunately with five of the ten tracks on the album having already been released as singles, there isn't a great deal that's new on Viva Hinds to get excited about. Perhaps this is the inevitable result of having to generate interest ahead of in a 30 date tour spanning eight countries over two continents. Either way it is a touch disappointing.
Which is not to distract from most of the singles. En Forma - Hinds' first song in their native Spanish, is a raucous indie romp harking back to The Raincoats and Kleenex, Coffee is a chirpy indie, girly anthem while Superstar and The Bed, The Room, The Rain and You, both show a heavier more studied production reminiscent of New Order, and The Lightning Seeds.
Of the new tracks the stand outs are the opener 'Hi How are you' - and the delightfully catchy On My Own which balances ferociously strummed guitars with a wild, sing-along chorus of "I just fucked it up" - which I'm prepared to lay odds will prove a high point of the coming concert dates.
The only real lows on Viva Hinds are the two tracks featuring guest vocalists - Beck on Boom Boom Back, and Fontaines D.C.'s Grian Chatten on Stranger. Again maybe their inclusion marks the need to generate ticket sales, but the more MoR rock styling of both is a stark contrast to the group's querkier, spontaneous, up tempo, numbers. More of those would have made Viva Hinds, a bolder, more colourful declaration of intent.
What there is though, is enough to confirm that the duo have what it takes, and were right to carry on as Hinds.
HINDS Tour Dates 2024
September 13th – London, UK – Lafayette
October 9th - Mexico City, Mexico - Foro Indie Rocks
October 12th – San Diego, CA - Casbah
October 15th – San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
October 17th – Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
October 18th – Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
October 20th – Madison, WI - High Noon
October 21st – Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
October 22nd – Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
October 23rd – Toronto - Lee’s Palace
October 25th – Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
October 26th – Washington DC - Union Stage
October 28th – Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
October 29th – Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
January 16th - Barcelona, Spain - Sala Apolo
January 18th - Valencia, Spain - Sala Jerusalem
January 24th - Madrid, Spain - Teatro Barceló
February 17th - Brighton, UK - Concorde 2
February 18th - Birmingham, UK - Castle & Falcon
February 20th - Glasgow, UK - Saint Luke's
February 21st - Manchester, UK - Gorilla
February 22nd - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
February 24th - Bristol, UK - The Fleece
February 25th - Southampton, UK - Papillon
February 28th - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique (Museum)
March 1st - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Tolhuistuin
March 3rd - Berlin, Germany - Frannz Club
March 4th - Hamburg, Germany - Nochtspeicher
March 5th - Cologne, Germany - Gebäude 9
March 7th - Paris, France - La Bellevilloise
Essential information
Main image by Dario Vasquez
