Hinds “The Prettiest Curse”

We’ve been fans of Hinds ever since we saw them live and were blown away by their sheer enthusiasm. Sadly, it may be a while before we get to experience them in a venue but, thankfully, we have their third album to keep us entertained.

Opening song “Good Bad Times” might actually come as a bit of a shock to their fans. It’s a super smooth pop number that actually has an almost Bananarama feel to it! But we mean that as a compliment as it’s a great pop song. Tracks like “Just Like Kids (Miau)” and “Boy” certainly have a more commercial and produced feel which makes you think  the band are looking to move up the festival bills and perhaps even the charts. It shouldn’t really come as too much of a surprise though, as even in their earlier days there was a pop feel behind the scruffy sound. But now they have just allowed the melodies to shine brighter on tracks like “Come Back And Love Me”.

But those fans of their scuzzier work need not despair as they are more than catered for with songs like “Burn” and “The Play”. These songs see them delivering their now almost trademark throw away garage rock and gang style vocals. This album may be a bit more polished, but with a track like “Waiting For You” they’ve really been able to totally nail a sound that perfectly balances melody with garage pop.

There is no denying that this album is a real leap forward for the band. They’ve always produced great trashy sounding  guitar pop songs. But with this release they’ve been a bit bolder. They’ve allowed the melodies to come to the fore and to really breathe. It’s an album that will be welcomed by their existing enthusiastic fan base but also offers up the chance for them to reach an even wider audience.