Entertainment

Spanish rockers Hinds live up to the hype with their debut album and sell-out live shows

Hotly-tipped Spanish four-piece Hinds have been selling out gigs for the past couple of years and in January they finally released their long-awaited debut album. Bassist Ade Martin talks to Brian Campbell

Hinds have been selling out gigs for the past two years
Hinds have been selling out gigs for the past two years Hinds have been selling out gigs for the past two years

WHEN Spanish garage-rockers Hinds play The Park Stage at the famous Glastonbury festival next weekend, they won’t be bothered by their stage time of 2pm.

The band – Carlotta Cosials (vocals, guitar), Ana Garcia Perrote (guitar, vocals), Ade Martin (bass) and Dutch-born drummer Amber Grimbergen – might be one of the youngest bands on the bill but they’re already festival veterans.

“Festivals are like our favourite thing in the world,” says bassist Ade. “It is more difficult to get the sound right and you don’t really have a soundcheck and it’s a bit rushed, so it did take a few festivals to get used to it.

“It’s funny to play festivals at 1pm or so, because we feel that we’re a `night’ band. We’re used to playing late and people have had a few drinks and are up for a party, so the first time for us to play at lunchtime with the sun in our faces and people sitting down having a sandwich was strange – we didn’t know how to act. But now we are used to that, so it doesn’t matter what time of day we play.”

Hinds are a talented bunch and their classic brand of garage rock is in the vein of The Velvet Underground, even though the 2003 Strokes record Room on Fire was one of the very first albums that founding members Carlotta and Ana got into.

The band officially formed in 2011 (then called Deers) but started writing and recording in earnest in 2013, releasing demos online such as Bamboo and Trippy Gum and generating a real buzz in the build-up to the release of their album Leave Me Alone earlier this year.

Ade says the album got its title because `leave me alone’ was a phrase the girls found themselves uttering regularly to people while they were recording.

“We were surrounded by people saying things like `don’t play the bass like that’ or `you shouldn’t be wearing that T-shirt’ or `this song should go on the album’ – so we’d just say, `Leave me alone - if people like it, they like it. And if not, then sorry’.”

She’s delighted that the album is finally out there now.

“We recorded it in April last year, so in my head it has been out since then. It was like a secret for so long and now it’s out there. Although because it’s out now that means people know all the songs, so if we make any mistakes when we play they will know,” she laughs.

She says the band enjoyed their all-too-brief experience of the Electric Picnic festival in Co Laois last year.

“We loved the Electric Picnic. It was a shame, because we got there and played and then a couple of hours later we had to go to get to another festival. It was beautiful and super fun, so we just wanted to stay.”

At a London gig earlier this year, Ana Garcia Perrote told the crowd that “We have been touring for two years to sold-out crowds. We don’t know why!” – but when you listen to the unpolished brilliance of songs such as Fat Calmed Kiddos, Castigadas En El Granero, Garden and San Diego it’s easy to see why their live show is such a big draw.

“Castigadas is definitely one of my favourites and it’s great to do live, because people get crazy for that one,” says Ade.

Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie is a fan and Hinds got to support their heroes The Strokes last year.

“That was a dream show for us. We met Albert Hammond Jr [from The Strokes] and he was very nice to us. The whole band were at the after-party but I was wearing a Strokes T-shirt, so there was no way that I could go over to them. I looked like a fan and I was getting some weird looks.”

Hinds are doing well in America too, after launching themselves at last year’s South By Southwest festival by playing 16 shows in five days.

“That was a great experience for us and it made us stronger as a band. We loved it.”

Hinds had to change their name from Deers because of pressure from the Canadian indie band The Dears.

“That was a nightmare, but now we love the name and we’re very happy,” says the bassist. “When we were doing a tour in Canada last year we were playing a venue and we saw gig posters and saw that The Dears were going to be playing a few days after us, so we thought about leaving them a note. But we forgot. We’ll do it at some point,” she laughs.

She says Hinds gigs attract fans of all ages.

“We do get lots of young people and lots of older people. Like my dad loves music and he’s a fan, so we love it when older people come to the shows.”

And the girls’ parents might have been unsure about them all launching into a rock career so young, but Ade says it’s not a big deal now

“We know we’re going to be doing this and touring until the middle of next year, so it’s good. Some of [the parents] tried to talk us out of it in the beginning, but they’re all OK with it now. They know we can do what we want.”

Leave Me Alone is out now. For tour updates, see hindsband.com.