The fourth album from Spanish indie rockers Hinds opens with a song called “Hi, How Are You,” and at the time they were writing it, best friends Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote would’ve responded: Not great. “Hey, you ok?” Perrote sings to Cosials, who responds: “I’ve been better tbh.” It’s an apt introduction to VIVA HINDS, an album Cosials and Perrote made after emerging from a creative rut that began when they released their last album, Prettiest Curse, in 2020 and ended when their bassist and drummer decided to leave the band. In between, they split with their management team, lost touring revenue due to lockdowns, and were without a label for the first time, but when Perrote and Cosials got together to write VIVA HINDS, those hardships dissolved. The girls had no one in their corner, but they had one another, and that mutual trust (they call themselves “millionaires in friendship”) allowed them to create the most accomplished album of their careers, one that celebrates their shared history and reaffirms that this band is in it for the long haul.

Effervescent since inception, Hinds took off instantly over a decade ago when, after spending one too many nights out watching guy friends play guitar, Perrote and Cosials decided that they would learn the instrument, write songs, and start a band. Their scrappy ethic, infectious onstage personalities, and knack for writing hooks made their debut album, 2016’s Leave Me Alone, a buzzy hit, and they kept the momentum going with I Don’t Run in 2018. Since those formative early days, they’ve toured internationally and graced festival stages at Glastonbury, Coachella, Fuji Rock, and many more, in addition to opening for major acts like The Strokes, Coldplay, and 5SOS. Through it all, they nurtured the intense bond that brought them together in the first place. “We started the band because we are so safe and comfortable with each other. Our relationship is unbreakable,” Cosials says. “This connection between us hasn’t changed since the very beginning. We still finish each other’s ideas, laugh at each other’s jokes and rhyme each other’s lines. Maintaining that enthusiasm for music and for Hinds through the years may seem extremely difficult to find, but it’s something that only can happen with your very best friend.”