Spanish duo, Hinds first broke onto the scene as a quartet with their debut record, Leave Me Alone, in 2016 which carved out their corner in the music world as a no-nonsense alt-indie outfit. Despite their extensive use of their mother tongue in their tracks (‘En Forma’), Hinds have garnered a world-wide cult following, and a career that has seen them collaborate with the likes of Beck, and even garnered support slots with Coldplay and The Strokes. Now just Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote, the duo are proving that losing numbers doesn’t have to mean losing your stride, or being any less vivacious.
Their latest release, the call-to-arms titled fourth record, VIVA HINDS, is an impressive offering that skates between breezy cuts (‘The Bed, The Room, The Rain And You’), heart-on-sleeve ballads (‘Superstar’), and infectious drilling numbers (‘On My Own’). To mark this latest era of Hinds, the duo have been touring Europe – their most recent spot being the illustrious Gorilla in the heart of Manchester.
The support slot for the evening was nabbed by indie newcomers, Clutter. The Swedish quartet have their debut EP slated for release early April, and thus far, have made waves with their grunge meets post-hardcore sound. Having a short but sweet half hour set, Clutter showcased the best of what they had to offer. From the insistent guitars of ‘Jesus’ to the more-stripped back approach of newly-released ‘Kraut’, Clutter are becoming steady risers on the grunge-adjacent scene.
Hinds aptly opened their set with the icebreaker ‘Hi, How Are You’, which set the tone for their almost 90-minute set that whisked through the best of what the Spanish rockers have to offer. My first time seeing Hinds had been a long decade in the waiting (not for lack of trying), and it was nothing short of exceptional.
Early in the set, Hinds introduced fans to two of the collaborative tracks on Viva Hinds, ‘Boom Boom Back’ enlisted the experimental-rock Beck, and ‘Stranger’ featured the vocals of Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten, both roles of which were taken on by their touring bassist. The former translated exceptionally live, delivering an electric atmosphere that travelled throughout Gorilla, where the more stripped back counterpart allowed the duo to show off the softer side of their vocals in a lush and delicate delivery.
With fan-favourite ‘Coffee’, the crowd erupted into a chorus “I like black coffee and cigarettes / and flowers from boys that I’m not sleeping with” to complement infectious guitars. Similarly, the fun and cheeky ‘Just Like Kids (Miau)’ features overlapping vocals mimicking school-yard chatter in a delivery that oozed confidence and a narrative that champions femininity and being yourself (“You’re too pink to be admired / And too punk to be desired”).
Proving that no-one was immune to the hypnotism of Charli xcx’s BRAT Summer, Hinds surprised fans with a delightful cover of ‘Girl, so confusing’, with a few lyrics changed to reflect their heritage (“young girl from essex” swapped for “she’s my friend from Madrid”). Carlotta impressively took on Lorde’s spoken word section, with Charli fans in the crowd clinging on to every word.
‘Superstar’ is a song they admitted they accidentally omitted from the setlist – despite “only doing this tour so they could play it live”. After being prompted by friends that it was missing after seeking set approval, the duo quickly corrected their mistake – much to Gorilla’s delight. Following, Hinds stepped in a time capsule back to 2014 with ‘Castigadas en el granero’ which details their struggle with writing the track (the title’s literal translation being “punished in the barn”).
‘En forma’ was met pleasantly by the crowd, with a large number singing along to the largely Spanish chorus (“Mírame, no puedo más” or “Look at me, I can’t take it anymore”), proving that Hinds’ music transcends lingual barriers and borders.
Bidding farewell to Manchester with their seminal cover of Thee Headcoats’ ‘Davey Crockett’, Hinds brought a fan on stage (who’d requested the song earlier in the night), as well as their tour manager and Clutter for their farewell, which quickly erupted into a venue-wide dance party. It didn’t take long before Carlotta and Ana ditched the stage for the crowd, creating a mosh pit for them to orchestrate their own Dirty Dancing moment.
Despite being a few members short of their original line-up, Hinds take it in their stride and deliver a high-octane performance that shook the sold-out Gorilla.
Words + photos by Lana Williams
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