Hinds headed to Hull’s The Welly in support of their critically acclaimed sophomore album ‘I Don’t Run’ and combined hearty garage-pop with a real fiesta atmosphere which could heat up the coldest of British wintery nights.
The Spanish quartet, which consists of Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote on vocals and guitars, Ade Martin on bass and Amber Grimbergen on drums, have earned a reputation for high energy, raucous live shows which echo their lo-fi/garage influences such as The Velvet Underground, Black Lips and Mac DeMarco, as well as being able to captivate with their honest and emotionally aware lyrics which offer a glimpse of vulnerability beneath the chaos unfolding around them on stage.
Reardon Love were the first band to take to the stage. Bearing the influence of early 80s new wave bands, the Hull locals were worthy openers for the night with set opener ‘The Apathetic Generation’ which was a lively yet gloomy throw back to The Smiths and Joy Division with its distinctive guitar lead lines and punchy bass-lines.
Up next were Sports Team who have accompanied Hinds on their current UK and European tour. Described by Noisey as ‘a potpourri of the famed dry wit of Stephen Malkmus; Haircut 100 without the brass instruments and a lottery ticket love child of the harmonic and song-writing abilities of Paul Heaton and Jarvis Cocker’, the six-piece offer a tongue in cheek alternative to prominent British indie-rock revivalists such as IDLES and The Blinders.
The quintessentially middle England band’s set heavily featured tracks from their impressive EP ‘Winter Nets’ and these were brought to life by frontman Alex Rice as he threw himself across the stage and climbed surrounding scaffolding, in stark contrast to their oddly unmoving keyboardist. While the crowd warmed up, all four members of Hinds raced to the front of the room to cheer on the West Londoners and dance along to the likes of ‘Kutcher’ and ‘Stanton’.
With memorable lines such as ‘I just wanted to be your mid-noughties MTV star’ and ‘I wanna buy you a flip-screen Motorola’ emphatically belted out, it became clear that Sports Team are carving their own unique path to nationwide recognition and they have left their mark on Hull on the way.
With the packed crowd suitably animated, Hinds then burst onto the stage to an orchestral entrance before the opening notes to ‘Soberland’ were met with appreciative cheers. Its jaunty rhythms and soaring harmonies oozed into the night and gave a taste of what was to come throughout the rest of the set.
As they worked through a variety of old and new material, Cosials and Perrot’s intertwining vocals were as honest and complimentary as on their studio releases. From dialling up the party atmosphere with a cover of Kevin Ayers’ ‘Caribbean Moon’ to more reflective songs like ‘Easy’ and ‘Garden’, the pair seemed inseparable while delving into a variety of emotions and sentiments.
In their recent stand-alone single ‘British Mind’, Hinds refer to how the British use the Sun as a metaphor for happiness and Cosials joked before they started the song about how they hadn’t seen the Sun throughout the entire day. However, as the song’s bouncing bass-line and sing along chorus lit up The Welly, we were all momentarily brought back to Britain’s long hot summer of 2018.
It’s not often that you see bands come across as cheery and bright on stage as Hinds and the party was unrelenting as they reached the raw ‘Tester’. The repeated refrain of “Should I’ve known before you were also banging her?” became a fist-pumping triumph rather than a melancholic memory for them as their infectious optimism washed over the room.
Noting how it was their first ever visit to the city, Cosials quizzed the crowd on the correct way of saying Hull (or ‘ull) and later in the set there was a cover of The Clash’s ‘Spanish Bombs’ with place names replaced with varying pronunciations of Hull by the quartet. There was a constant friendly atmosphere in between songs with the band enthusiastically interacting with the crowd and generating positive vibes throughout the night.
They raced through a tightly packed set with highlights including ‘Bamboo’, which was released on their Demo EP back in 2014 under their previous name of Deers and helped kick-start their musical career, and ‘Rookie’ which included Perotte dropping her guitar, diving into the crowd with her microphone and clambering onto the shoulders of an unsuspecting fan.
After a brief exit from the stage, the band returned for an encore and joined in a posed formation for the opening notes of ‘Castigadas En El Granero’ before bursting back into life to shout out the chorus of the fan favourite. After ending with the uplifting ‘New For You’, Hinds triumphantly made their way off the stage with ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ blaring from the speakers.
It’s safe to say that everyone present left the room looking on the bright side of life and Hinds will continue to deliver positivity to the rest of the UK and Europe during their tour.
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