list.co.uk/music HINDS
I n case your veterinary knowledge isn't up to snuff, here's a crucial fact for your records: ‘Hinds’ is the word for ‘female deer’. And just in case your knowledge of garage rock from Madrid is also a little patchy, the group Hinds were originally called Deers, though they had to change it last year after the threat of legal action from a similarly-named band. Confused? Don't be, it's all sorted now.
‘It was a horrible thing that happened,’ says bassist Ade Martín, ‘but now we are really happy with Hinds. We love the way it looks and sounds, but at the time it was tough.’ The strong feminine undertone to the name feels i tting, since the band is made up of four talented women (Carlotta, Ana, Amber and Ade herself), but let's get one thing straight: they are not a girl band, they are a band. Period.
‘It's become a "thing" that we are girls,’ says Ade. ‘People have to make it even more clear just in case nobody noticed. It's like they discovered America.
‘It gets pretty annoying sometimes, because we just wanna be a band, and people keep saying [girl group] as though we were a genre. They put us in the same bag as other girl bands that we have nothing to do with musically . . . It's like, "OK, can you please say something else about me? Am I not a musician? You like my music, do you not? Do I sound like any other musician that isn't a girl?"’
Their sound is indie psych pop / rock with a Californian edge, something that resonates throughout the acts on their label, Burger Records. ‘Every band on [the label] is in some way like that sound, of the Californian, American wave. That sound is what we're trying to get close to in a way,’ Ade explains.
Though the band is originally from Madrid, Hinds' songs are not written in Spanish, something Ade believes was an obvious choice for the band. ‘It made more sense in our heads to sing in English,’ she says. ‘There’s no way you can get to where we’re getting now if you’re not singing in English. We could have done it in Spanish, but nobody would understand. People just aren't used to that. It’s very difi cult to communicate in another language that's not English in the music world.’
'IT'S BECOME A "THING" THAT WE ARE GIRLS. PEOPLE HAVE TO MAKE IT EVEN MORE CLEAR JUST IN CASE NOBODY NOTICED'
And for Hinds, the music world is universal indeed. They’re just fresh from a world tour, which saw them support the Libertines, the Vaccines and Black Lips, and play in countries as far ai eld as Australia, Thailand and America.
Speaking about their international success, Ade says: ‘It's a dream for every musician in Spain. No one listens to Spanish music if it's not l amenco – you don't expect a rock band to come out of there.’ But come out of there they did, and with a killer new album – Leave Me Alone – to take on tour. It feels especially signii cant for the band since all four of them wrote
it together.
Originally, the band consisted of only two members: Carlotta and Ana, both of whom played guitar and sang. After recording their i rst tracks ‘Bamboo’ and ‘Trippy Gum’, which were released on Bandcamp as ‘Demo’, they started to gather steam, and so they recruited the other two members to play drums and bass.
But Ade and Amber are not just backing musicians, they are integral parts of the new band, and as the group has evolved, so has its songwriting process.
‘Sometimes Ana and Carlotta will still write a song together and bring it to rehearsal and we’ll all learn it,’ Ade explains, ‘but a lot of the time the songs come from all of us jamming. ‘There are four different minds now, so that means more new
ideas. They don't have to be good or bad, just new.’
These new ideas all have a clear theme, and there is a dei nite commonality between all the songs on the album. ‘It's all love songs,’ Ade explains. ‘It's mostly the 12 phases of love that [the band] know.’
‘It was written over a whole year – a whole year touring and having so many experiences. I think that year is there. You can feel it.’ And with another full year of touring to come, let's hope that
means there's plenty more material for a follow-up.
Hinds play Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 21 Feb.
a REGULAR MUSIC presentation in association with UNITED TALENT AGENCY
Brian Wilson Pet Sounds presents
The 50th Anniversary celebration & final performance in its entirety
plus rare cuts and greatest hits
performing with special guests Al Jardine & Blondie Chaplin
Thursday 26 May Friday 27 May
Edinburgh Usher Hall 0131 228 1155
Glasgow
Royal Concert Hall 0141 353 8000
by arrangement with PRIMARY TALENT INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION
WED 8TH JUNE O2ABC GLASGOW
SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER
IN ASSOCIATION WITH CAA
by arrangement with CODA MUSIC AGENCY W A K E YW A K E Y
PLUS SPECIAL GUES T S ELIZABETH & THE C ATAPULT
SUNDAY 06 MARCH GL ASGOW S TEREO
THE CAT EMPIRE
Friday 8 April 02 ABC GLASGOW
Saturday 9 April
QUEEN’S HALL EDINBURGH
MONDAY 8 FEBRUARY EDINBURGH LIQUID ROOM
P L U S S P E C I A L G U E S T S
T H U R S D A Y 3 R D M A R C H
E D I N B U R G H T H E V O O D O O R O O M S
ANDREW ROACHFORD PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS
Sat 5th March GLASGOW ORAN MOR Sun 6th March ABERDEEN LEMON TREE 01224 641 122
KELVIN
plus special guests INDIGO VELVET
PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS FRIDAY 8 APRIL GLASGOW
THE ART SCHOOL
NEW SINGLE WOLVES OUT NOW
THECATEMPIRE.COM
GLASGOW ORAN MOR SAT 9TH APRIL
Saturday 16th April
ERIC BIBB
REGULAR MUSIC & CPL BY ARRANGEMENT WITH PRIMARY TALENT INTERNATIONAL PRESENT In association with Coda Music Agency present
PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS
AND BAND
The ‘You Really Got Me’ Tour plus special guest Yana Bibb Thursday 19 May 2016 Edinburgh Queen’s Hall 0131 668 2019
Friday 20 May 2016 Glasgow Concert Hall [New Auditorium] 0141 353 8000
Mon 30 May GLASGOW THE HUG & PINT
Tuesday 14th June EDINBURGH USHER HALL LIVE AT
0131 228 1155
0844 844 0444 www.ticketmaster.co.uk In person from Ticket Scotland Glasgow/Edinburgh & Ripping Edinburgh and usual outlets
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4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 71