Posted on Jan 8, 2016

Hinds: A Lesson In Cool From Spain's New Faces Of Garage Rock

Hinds rates manbuns, Miley, moshpits and more.

by Jessica Lima

BuzzFeed Staff, Español

by Bob Marshall

BuzzFeed Staff

Half a century after garage rock's mid-60s heyday and 15 years after The Strokes led its revival, Madrid's Hinds is keeping the sound and the spirit alive on their debut album, Leave Me Alone.

"It's not [meant] for everybody," says vocalist/guitarist Carlotta Cosials in reference to the album's title. "But it's also not for someone in particular. It's more like a sentence you can say protect yourself. We like the power that we have to say 'leave me alone' to so many minds, people, opinions."

From the record's retro lo-fi production to the band's penchant for drinking, smoking and partying in videos, Hinds' defiant punk attitude may not be meant for everyone, but it's absolutely irresistible to anyone who prefers their rock and roll with a hearty injection of cool.

Only a year into their history, Hinds is making waves as the first band from Madrid's nascent garage scene to make waves in the U.S.

"Maybe there are seven bands from Madrid and everyone that knows garage know them and have seen them play," vocalist/guitarist Ana García Perrote says. "It's pretty small, but it's strong for us. We are kind of the first ones coming out of Spain but we have so many interviews were people ask us for the Madrid scene, so that makes people interested and be able to put Spain on a map."

And for those who are new to Hinds, what should they know about the new album going in? According to Perrote, "I think that people need to know that it's very messy and that it's from a band that has been playing for one year." And the great thing? It's messiness may be its best quality.

So how do we stay cool like Hinds? We had them school us on our favorite fashions and pop culture in a game of Cool Or Not Cool. Needless to say, we learned a lot.