Hinds’ ramshackle brilliance wins over Reading 2016

Just try not to have fun, we dare you.

The beauty of Hinds comes in what other bands would see as imperfections. While their peers would consider months on the road to be an excuse to become tighter, more regimented and slick, this lot know better than that.

What’s magical about Hinds is the fact that they genuinely are having the most fun. Each element, lyric, hook or guitar part is flung into the mix like teaching a group of hyperactive children to bake. It’s roughly in the right direction, sort of in the right way, but with such force and sheer joy that it’s absolutely, 100% better that way.

That ramshackle brilliance gives their live show an energy that no stage managed performance could ever match. Running with scissors, charging into every room with a toothy grin and a loud ta-da, they could well be the ultimate festival band. Just try not to have fun, we dare you.