Hinds are finally having their global moment

Armed with best friend Ana Perrote, the pair’s initial scheme was to set up a summer camp for kids. "Dedicated to music of course," Cosials adds, “to teach kids how to play." Music journalists are allowed to tag along too, to give us a chance to play music for a change: “You’re not a kid, but age is just a number!” she assures me.

Luckily for us, Hinds is the project that stuck. The Spanisg duo first spoke to Best Fit ten years ago – since then they've lost two band members, countless boyfriends, and on occasion, their sanity. “We’ve had a rough couple of years," Cosials explains. “We didn’t choose it, it was their [bassist Ade Martin and drummer Amber Grimbergen] thing."

But now in hindsight (ha!), the pair are grateful for this time. “It feels a lot lighter, a lot more free." Perrote says. “We don’t have to explain anything to anyone." She gestures to Cosials: “The good and crazy thing about our relationship is that we’ve always been on the same page. We go to the movies together, we go out together, we spend the whole day chatting about shit.”

"We’re having more adventures than ever," Cosials agrees. Even now, the pair are talking to me from a holiday together in Porto. Smiling through matching sunglasses, they sit tangled around each other in their hotel room. Perrote starts to tie up her hair, and Cosials hands her a scrunchie without thinking. Hinds has always been the constant in chaotic times, each member carefully anticipating the other’s next move.

“Carlotta has outlived so many of my boyfriends, so many things!” Perrote laughs while Cosials flexes her muscles. She speaks profoundly of their relationship: “You can’t take the friendship out of Hinds, and you can’t take Hinds out of the friendship.”

Their bond stretches back to 2010, where they met at an old boyfriend’s house. “I remember exactly the clothes she was wearing!” Perrote beams as Cosials groans to remember her old wardrobe. “She had this white fake fur coat, and she arrived driving her mum’s van and smoking. I was underage so was already thinking ‘Oh my fucking god, this girl looks so incredibly cool and funny’. It was an instant crush – right away we stopped caring about the guy."

Cosials grins: “We were unleashed!”

“We were up until 4am playing music, dancing and taking photos. It was so funny because we were just in this guy’s house." Perrote remembers. “He never appeared in any of the photos – we kept saying ‘take another one!”

Capturing the Hinds’ energy has always been high on the band’s agenda. Viva Hinds especially sees them flexing their directorial talent, the pair directing, editing and starring in all the album’s music videos. “Let’s talk about it!” Perrote points fiercely at the camera, deservedly proud of their cinematic ventures. “We’ve always directed a lot of our own music videos, but we never really knew what to call it," Cosials explains. “This time it was important to have a comeback that didn’t embarrass us," she admits. “We wanted to be able to control how we wanted to tell the story and show ourselves on camera."

“The problem was we realised we were good at it, so we had to keep going," Perrote laughs. “I remember us looking at each other after doing the first video like ‘Fuck! Now we have to do all of them!’ And it’s so much work. The thing we’ve done most this year – more than touring, more than anything – is the videos."

The duo are making music videos cool again, reviving the golden age of noughties visuals. “Coffee” has motorbikes, “En Forma” has Kubrick stares, “Boom Boom Back” features LA as a character and a “Ghost Beck” (as Cosials lovingly refers to him). “I just love music videos," she adds, “They’re such a good language."

It’s impossible to discuss Viva Hinds without mentioning their collaboration with Beck on “Boom Boom Back” (or “Boom Boom Beck, actually," as he chuckles at the end of the song). “Who?” Cosials jokes. “Kidding! You know what, it’s still insane. It’s so stupid.”

Though the duo mindfully directed their comeback, serendipitous moments still managed to sneak in. “We were touring in LA when we wrote the song," Cosials explains. “The day after we were invited to this private screening for a documentary called Salarymen. Everyone was going for a beer afterwards, so we went too. We get there and who’s at the bar having a drink? Beck!”

“Right away we started talking to him, and we bonded really well,” Perrote continues. “He invited us to a gallery opening that he was doing the soundtrack for. There was a flyer – and a dress code!” she laughs. “We had to wear green, but obviously on tour we didn’t have our whole wardrobe, so we ended up wearing these sports shirts.”

Later, playing Beck the song, he agreed that it was something special. “We just asked if he wanted to be on it, and he said yes!” Perrotte beams.

Viva Hinds is full of such creative risks – though the band don’t see them as such. "En Forma" is their first single sung wholly in Spanish, a turn that Cosials says came naturally. Their native tongue thumps with a fervent urgency, dissolving pain into positivity. “I was on this plane escaping an ex, trying to get over him," she explains. “I wasn’t having a good time for a really long time. I couldn’t even write – I didn’t want to do rhymes about anything I was going through, it felt silly and superficial. This was the very first time I felt like I could write something without feeling like I was betraying myself. And it just came out in Spanish, no big decisions.”

The band’s latest incarnation brims with these optimistic moments, More than anything, Viva Hinds is a cry of endurance. “Long live Hinds!” Cosials grins. “There’s no way to say it better with fewer words. It’s a triumph!”

“It was our fans who actually started chanting ‘Viva Hinds!’” Perrote adds. “When we started the band we were called Deers, but there was another band with the same name so we were forced to change it. We didn’t even like ‘Hinds’ - just because when someone makes you do something, you hate it, even if it ends up being a good thing in the long run."

The title is an apt parallel for where the duo find themselves now: “Bandmates leaving, COVID, all the things that seemed like they could have finished the band instead gave us the opportunity to direct what we think is our best album so far," Perrote continues.

The album is a thank you to not only their fans, but those close to the pair: “Everything we’ve been through over the last couple of years has been dealt with internally, with doors closed," Perrote says. “Rather than ‘Viva Hinds’ being chanted in venues, it was whispered by our families and friends."

Chanting ‘Viva Hinds’ the loudest however is the two friends who started it all. Cosials and Perrote bask in the band’s survival, oozing pride through their smiles and words. Their new era is a testament to the power of their friendship, a bond they hope their time in Porto won’t break. “We’ve been told that this is the place where everyone breaks up," Perrote half-laughs. “At least everyone from Spain does. We’ve been doing analytics to find out why," Cosials adds. “We keep saying to each other, ‘please don’t break up with me!’”

Fortunately, the pair seem untouchable to the Porto curse, striking the perfect balance between business and friendship. “If we’re hanging out as friends, we’ll call out a meeting of two minutes for business," Cosials says. “Friend zone over, business starting," Perrote nods: “But it also goes the other way - you can call a meeting if you need a friend too."

(At one point I fear their hypothesis will come true – after talking under and over each other they turn to me and tease: “Give us a minute, we’re fighting!”)

Closing our chat, the pair nod their sunglasses down from the tops of their heads, shouting “Viva Hinds!” as they hit their noses. The friends are back in business – not only surviving, but ready to take over the world, and take over the world in style.