Vocalist and guitarist Carlotta Cosials is changing the way the world looks at rock. She strays from steadfast stereotypes of angst and violence with her bubbly authenticity. Hailing from Madrid, she drives away images of thoughtless rebellion with her knack for considerate expression in multiple languages. She wears a Justin Bieber shirt to our interview with no shame.
With her three bandmates — fellow vocalist-guitarist Ana Perrote, bassist Ade Martin and drummer Amber Grimbergen — Cosials makes up Hinds: an all-female garage-rock band that is already selling out international shows with just one album released.
On Oct. 20, Hinds will set foot in Phoenix for the first time to bring an equalizing show to Valley Bar.
“(It will be) a big party where everyone is invited, and there’s no difference between the people who are on the stage and the people who are watching the stage,” Cosials said. “We are the same.”
The band sold out over 15 European shows in the first part of their tour alone. They’ve played South by Southwest and will play at the same festival as James Blake and Ice Cube before entering Arizona.
Cosials said the group has naturally gone a little crazy, but the tour has been perfect nonetheless. She has gotten to travel and perform. She unabashedly admits her on-the-road habits, having become an expert at surviving the conditions of an abnormally lengthy journey.
“I use socks more than one day,” Cosials said. “I use them three to four days. If they don’t stink, I still use them. We have had a necessity to share a toothbrush more than once. It has happened a lot, actually, and we share clothes all the time.”
Cosials is clearly passionate about her career, for good reason. Hinds has made waves in the garage rock scene in ways that more than justify the band’s hard work.
The women of Hinds have become feminist icons for alternative musicians and fans. They’ve formed one of few all-female groups to chart on Billboard, especially as a rock band. In Spain, their importance is even greater: They’ve helped pioneer Madrid’s budding indie rock scene.
Moreover, Hinds international appeal makes it a pioneering band beyond its home country. After touring in numerous Asian countries, including Japan and Vietnam, Cosials realized Hinds was breaking ground in the Singapore music scene as a whole.
“Singapore actually was one of my favorites because rock music is growing up there now,” Cosials said. “It felt like we were bringing something new to the place. It was quite emotive and quite cool to feel.”
However, the mini cultural revolution Hinds has started is incidental: a byproduct of the music the band has created. For this reason “Leave Me Alone,” the purposeful debut album the musicians produced, is what makes Cosials most proud of Hinds.
“I think you can be very good at playing in live shows and you can be very good at social media,” Cosials said. “You can be very good at a lot of things, but writing good songs is not a thing you can rehearse. It’s a thing that is about taste. I don’t know exactly what is the formula, but I think the (thing I’m most proud) about is the proper album.”
On Oct. 28, the deluxe version of the band’s breakout album will release with 12 bonus tracks. These will include intimate mobile phone recordings of songs — none of them produced — to provide a genuine, vivid look at the band’s recording process.
“It’s an album that everyone can understand,” Cosials said. “If you sit down and listen to it, you will understand what I’m saying right now. It’s a thing that you can totally smell and feel the communication.”
Contact the columnist at Emily.Liu@asu.edu.
