As much as I’ve LOVED Hinds since they were called Deers, I feel like I’ve lost track of them. I missed their 2020 release, The Prettiest Curse, and haven’t seen them live since their 2016 appearance at the penultimate Treasure Island Music Festival. I kinda forgot about them, but their infectious single, “Boom Boom Back,” came up as a suggestion by the algorithm, and it hooked me in. Viva Hinds, their 4th full-length album (and first as a duo), is their most accessible record, and it’s fantastic. I made sure to clear my schedule to see them make their triumphant return to the USA.
The Happy Return was making their first-ever visit to San Francisco, but based on the audience response, one would be surprised by that fact. The audience was about 50% under 21, but 100% of the under-21 folks knew nearly every lyric to every song and danced up a storm. Sonically, they did clean guitar pop, with a real focus on the vocals. These harmonies were dreamy! The kids know good rock n roll, despite what the naysayers say.
From the beginning, Hinds always presented themselves as an exceptionally confident live act. Tonight was no different, despite guitarist Ana Perrote’s foot in a boot due to an injury sustained earlier in the tour. They opened with Viva Hinds’s opener, “Hi How Are You?” and pummelled through an intensely aggressive and fun 90 minutes of rock n roll.
Many classic Hinds elements were there- the slightly off-kilter harmonies layered over garage rock chords and hyper-sincere lyrics. However, the new album is their most polished record yet, and their live show is dialed similarly. Their banter was ADORABLE- singer Carlotta Corsials spent a few moments (and a bailout from Perrote) trying to figure out how to say “Who was here last time we played The Chapel?” in English, with mixed results.
The Viva Hinds-heavy setlist rarely moved to their earlier material. They only played one song off their first record (“Castigados en el granero”) and a handful from their second. It didn’t matter. The party went hard. They even covered “Spanish Bombs” by The Clash (although more similar to the Tijuana, No! version). They closed the whole show with members of The Happy Return joining them with a cover of Thee Headcoatees’ “Davey Crockett,” complete with Corsials leaping into the crowd and provoking a pogo pit. It was a deliriously happy way to end an already happy night.
