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The landscape of rock has meandered through the fabric of society since its conception and has mindfully expanded its definition constantly. Today, we may not always be readily exposed to the majesty that is rock n’ roll thanks to easily digestible music pills mass-produced for radio regurgitation pushing into mainstream music consumption, yet it lives, thrives and continues to adapt.
Where the 60s gave us the Beatles and Zeppelin, the 80s gave us The Smiths and G’n’R and 90s gave us Nirvana and Jeff Buckley, we long to know the definitive faces of our generation’s rock ‘n’ roll heroes. Who will they be? Will they ever exist? Possible candidates are splattered across the globe in a myriad of colours from Arctic Monkeys to Foals, to Best Coast or Tame Impala. And now, hailing from Madrid, Hinds ride in on the back of their debut album, Leave Me Alone. Hinds hail from a colourful, art city from which they draw experience and inspiration to fuel their creations and have since spread their music around, collecting new influence on the way. After a number of successful years under the name Deers an unfortunate turn of events led to their name change that seemed to spark an upward spiral for the band, accumulating towards the triumphant climax that is Leave Me Alone.
Spurred on by the frivolity of youth, Hinds power into the spotlight with their debut Leave Me Alone – a charming, charismatic and overall, fun, addition to the burgeoning rock pantheon.
From the outset, the album hits hard with a tidal wave of youthful charm, timeless storytelling and luscious, catchy musical moments. Album opener, Garden serves as the rumbling that signifies the ignition of an engine, which is relentless from start to finish. The rumbling comes from gorgeous, spine tingling, reverb drenched, enormous bare chords that smack you in the face in the most nourishing way imaginable. Garden sets the tone for the lilting fireworks that twist and spiral through the coming tunes.
Fat Calmed Kiddos sounds like beautiful chaos forged in the melding together of two completely separate tracks, given a face by the two separate vocal tracks that flow together and argue with one another. With sudden tempo changes and that soaking wet guitar sound that drips over almost every song on the record, Fat Calmed Kiddos makes for genuinely clever, down to earth songwriting. Lyrically, Leave Me Alone centres on ageless topics of youth, love, loss, partying and frustration. Standout track, Chili Town is a fresh and relatable verse from the bible of awkward interactions with crushes: “All I’m asking is for you to make a move” beg the twin voices of two ladies who seem to be drawing from the same feelings in unique experiences. Again, the band play with tempo and reverberating chasms of guitar to create a track that is superficially simple but complicated in its intricacies.
Solar Gap is perhaps the most apt title for any of the tracks as it is just that – a sunny instrumental interlude that highlights the band’s capabilities in orchestration and clever use of their limited means. One of the deeper cuts on the record comes in the shape of bitter love song And I Will Send Your Flowers Back which could tell its story sans lyrics, with only the fumbling guitars and drawling vocal melody to exude emotion.
Coming in at 12 tracks, Leave Me Alone has plenty to offer. Although the tracks don’t necessarily differ from one another massively, one would be missing the point if they were to expect eclecticism when story and memorable consistency are apex. The LP is relentless but moreish, like having a whole family sized bag of salty chips to eat to yourself. One of the most glaring strengths of Hinds on the album is their adamant originality stemming from immediately recognizable motifs whether it be two separate vocals singing differing lyrics or drastic tempo changes, or even the glorious guitar sound that is much replicated but somehow made unique in Hinds’ execution.
The record feels like a soothing, transcendental underwater road-trip in a 50s convertible with the top down so that warm salt water rushes calmly over your skin. It feels like a window into the minds of young women jumping on their beds, screaming euphorically at one another in cathartic outpourings of youthful happy and sad.
Having already experienced a skyscraper of success in a short space of time, Hinds are continually stepping up to the plate, creating truly original, and cutting edge rock music that oozes youthful lazy charm and sophisticated sharpness in equal measure. Leave Me Alone contains some of the most catchy, charismatic and truly relatable garage rock that has emerged in years. You must hear this a lot but, seriously, this is a band to watch in 2016.
Leave Me Alone is out in Australia on January 8th via Inertia.
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