Suburban
Speed

Rating: 7/10

by Jess Nielson

Don't you love it when pop music gets shambolic and rough around the edges? It's more fun that way, right? Well Hinds, who began life in Madrid under the name Deers until The Dears threatened action over the name, are adept at creating infectious pop songs and then giving them a garagey wall of sound to fight against.  They've built up a decent following over the last year or so, with a run of strong singles, and reports of their gigs are always glowing.  Many of the twelve songs on this long-awaited debut album are short sharp simple rock n roll - some of it sounding timeless, some of it teetering on the edge of chaos.  Nearly all of them fizz with decent pop tunes, and some of them are truly infectious. 

Leave me Alone is far from a throwaway pop record however, and in feel it is more like the Raincoats or last year's La Luz album than any of the more disposable bands. The comparison with the Raincoats comes from the mixture of joyousness and shambles right from track one, ‘Garden’, which is a garage-rock strum along with a pretty chorus. Apart from the chord progression it eschews normal structure, threatening to fall apart at any moment.  As well as all the pop fizz there is plenty of dischord and distortion. Their voices clash with each other on ‘Fat Calmed Kiddos’ as traditional timing goes out of the window, and after a few track it becomes apparent that the strongest melody lines come not from the vocals but from the lead guitarist, a fact underlined by the lovely instrumental ‘Solar Gap’.

‘Castigadas en el Granero’ could be some lost Spanish Nuggets compilation, and the same goes for ‘San Diego’ with its swaggering rhythm and super-fuzzy guitars. ‘And I Will Send Your Flowers Back’ is one of less cluttered arrangements, and it showcases how raw and honest their vocals are.  Their persona comes out through these songs too and they come across as charming, and best of all they seem like a band that is fun to be in - something also illustrated by the devil-may-care cover photo. By the time closing track ‘Walking Home’ comes around however, the voices do start to grate and the album certainly doesn't outstay it's welcome.