– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER –
Hinds are coming to the end of the beginning. Tonight marks the first night of a final jaunt around the UK in support of their debut album Leave Me Alone, and they appear for the first time to be taking in what has happened to them.
The Madrid quartet, who started out in 2014 under the name Deers, are tonight playing Manchester for the fourth time, and are greeted by as many adoring fans at Academy 2 as there were at the other three appearances put together. As followers of the band will know via their prolific social media activity, they have lived the rock ‘n’ roll dream for two years, but now when they finish this UK tour, they will head back to Spain for a final victory lap, before finally crashing home.
Following Hinds as they conquered the world has been one of the greatest joys as a music fan over the last couple of years, and it is heart-warming that they still play together with the same boundless energy and unashamed joy as they did in the back room of the Castle Hotel with Spring King nearly two years ago. That night, sheer enthusiasm carried them through, despite a slurry of broken guitars and technical gremlins. Tonight, the gremlins are gone, but the same enthusiasm remains, and so the triumph is all the more sweet.
It wouldn’t be right to say that the songs have become more polished as the band have gained experience – indeed, the occasional missed notes are part of the charm. And their best tracks seem to be held together by gaffer tape anyway – think of the ramshackle appeal of ‘Garden’, a tune which boasts a chiming guitar lead that could have been written by a young Johnny Marr, and which tonight they themselves seem so excited to play that it nearly falls apart. It’s like every night at a Hinds gig is a house party, and it would be a very miserable person who finds fault with that.
Signature tracks like ‘Bamboo’ and ‘Chili Town’ are still as infectious and singalong-able as they ever were, maybe more so. They bring out the teenager inside everyone in attendance, and even when Hinds (briefly) bring the pace down a notch with the moodier ‘Easy’, it’s hard to ignore the fact that everyone is merely waiting for the next chance to scream along and start smiling again. By the time the main set has drawn to a close all too soon with ‘Castigadas En El Granero’, the Academy 2 is adamant that it has not seen enough. Mercifully, Hinds agree, and return with a riotous version of ‘Davy Crockett’, which ends in absolute tatters, with crowd and band all screaming and flailing in unruly unison.
We all hope and expect them to be back with album number two in pretty short order, and no doubt the new songs will be great, but part of you wonders whether things will ever be quite the same again. Whatever happens, the fans are here to stay, because being a Hinds fan is like being in the friendliest gang in the world.
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I'm a refugee in Manchester, having successfully escaped Birmingham in 2007. I'm a soon-to-be journalism student, used to edit the music section of the Manchester Uni paper, and have done a little radio production to boot. I've been adding bits and pieces to Silent Radio since 2012, mostly gig reviews, but a few albums too. Also hoping now to get involved with the brilliant radio show. When doing none of that, you can usually find me at some gig venue somewhere around town.
