Hinds “Leave Me Alone”

Hinds first came to our attention when we saw them at Glastonbury Festival where they gave one of the most enthusiastic and fun sets we’ve seen there. They then proved it wasn’t a fluke by being equally endearing at Secret Garden Party. Now they’ve gathered a lot of press interest and anticipation ahead of this debut. The big question is whether they can capture the joy of their live sets on record.
Ironically, the album starts with the rather down beat “Garden”. However, it immediately lets you know that this is going to be a garage pop album with something of a ‘slacker’ tone. However, the ‘swagger’ that makes them so great live is very evident on the brilliant “Fat Calm Kidos”. The twin vocal approach really works a treat and fits perfectly with the youthful lyrical content. Together with songs like “Chill Town” and “I’ll Be Your Man” there is a Libertines type influence. However, rather than being dragged down with tales of woe and problems they bring a more sunshine vibe as you would want from a Spanish band.

Despite it’s off putting title, “Warts” is a proper pop song, simplistic but infectious. On “Easy” they have a neat trick of slowing down and speeding up the song, it makes it all seem a bit ‘wonky’ and throwaway, but in a good way! This isn’t really an album for ‘musos’ or ‘serious critics’, songs like “Castigadas En El Granero” and “San Diego” are just meant to accompany fun filled times for the young (or in our case, young at heart!). Indeed, “Bamboo” takes the fun to a new level with its garage band playing a sixties girl group song sound. The album then winds up with the surf pop gem called “Walking Home”.

The timing of this release is really perfect, partly because Courtney Barnett has made ‘slacker pop’ so cool. However, it also comes at a time when the band that Hinds most remind us of have announced their split… Those Darlins. Forget the lazy, and frankly ridiculous, comparisons made to Haim (their style and especially production is miles away from this). Hinds’ sound is far closer to Those Darlins, it’s a garage band sound but with an ear for a pop song. It also has the benefit of having a sunnier feel that adds a sense of fun, as opposed to the more pessimistic tone that normally accompanies this style of music. There’s really no need to over analyse the musicianship or the ‘worthiness’ of the lyrics, instead just kick back, listen to it and enjoy it.