HAIM | ||
| Allmusic Biography : American sister act HAIM -- their name simply taken from the trios surname -- formed in 2006 after spending their childhood as part of family cover band Rockinhaim. They grew up together in Californias San Fernando Valley, where they were brought up listening to Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Santana, and the sounds of Motown, to name a few of their diverse influences. The three-piece played local venues and crafted their own R&B-influenced; soft rock sound until eldest sister Este (guitar/bass) left to study ethnomusicology at UCLA, while middle child Danielle (vocals, guitar) toured with Jenny Lewis and then the Strokes Julian Casablancas on his solo tour. The youngest of the group, Alana (guitar/keyboard), dropped out of college in her first year to concentrate on the band once Este and Danielle returned. Later, Dash Hutton was installed on drums to complete the bands live lineup. They began playing shows again and supported acts such as Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Ke$ha, but it wasnt until 2012 that their star quickly began to rise. A successful show at Texas music festival South by Southwest landed them a record deal with Polydor in the U.K., and they subsequently released an EP titled Forever that year. Their polished mixture of Fleetwood Mac-inspired rock, 80s synth pop, and 90s R&B; influences such as Destinys Child garnered attention from blogs and music critics alike that built a feverish hype around the band. The three-pieces popularity in the U.K. swelled after release of the single "Dont Save Me," and at the end of 2012 they became the first female group to win the influential BBC Sound of 2013 award. Following the award, HAIM went on to make 2013 their own with sold-out headlining shows and a festival appearance on Glastonburys main stage. Their debut album, Days Are Gone, was recorded with producers Ariel Rechtshaid (Vampire Weekend, Usher) and James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Florence + the Machine) and arrived in September 2013. The album sold 90,000 copies in its first week, and its widespread acclaim included a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. HAIM spent the better part of two years touring on their own and in support of Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Florence + the Machine. They also collaborated with Stevie Nicks on a version of Fleetwood Macs "Rhiannon"; sang on Calvin Harris fourth album, Motion; and contributed to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 and The Divergent Series: Insurgent soundtracks. Following more touring, HAIM returned in July 2017 with Something to Tell You, which expanded on Days Are Gones sound and featured production by Rechtshaid as well as Dev Hynes and Rostam Batmanglij. The album debuted at number seven on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and included the singles "I Want You Back" and "Little of Your Love." Two more singles followed with "Nothings Wrong" and "Walking Away." A deluxe version of the album appeared in December 2017. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 5 Title: Forever Released: 2012-01-01 Tracks: 4 Duration: 16:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Better Off (03:37) 2 Forever (04:05) 3 Go Slow (04:17) 4 Forever (Dan Lissvik remix) (04:00) |
 | Album: 2 of 5 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2012 Released: 2012-11-07 Tracks: 5 Duration: 24:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Better Off (04:18) 2 Honey and I (05:19) 3 Go Slow (04:27) 4 Forever (04:07) 5 Let Me Go (05:53) |
 | Album: 3 of 5 Title: Days Are Gone Released: 2013-08-05 Tracks: 11 Duration: 44:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Falling (04:18) 2 Forever (04:05) 3 The Wire (04:05) 4 If I Could Change Your Mind (03:50) 5 Honey & I (04:11) 6 Don’t Save Me (03:51) 7 Days Are Gone (03:33) 8 My Song 5 (03:53) 9 Go Slow (04:17) 10 Let Me Go (04:08) 11 Running If You Call My Name (04:02) |
| Days Are Gone : Allmusic album Review : There is nothing cool about Haims music, and thats why its so refreshing. While many of their contemporaries engaged in a contest to find the most obscure influences, and 80s revivalists sucked synth-pop and new wave dry, the Haim sisters dug up the decades biggest, poppiest sounds and fashioned a captivating debut album out of them. Days Are Gone sounds all the more unusual precisely because its so mainstream; a list of their influences -- Stevie Nicks, Phil Collins, En Vogue, Shania Twain -- looks like a glance at the Top 40 from about 25 years before the albums release. Likewise, these songs revel in that eras sometimes-cheesy flourishes without a trace of irony, and the gated drums, gleaming synths, and muted guitars that dominate Days Are Gone havent sounded so good since their original heyday. Not that Haims approach is unstudied; the trio obviously did their homework to revive and embody these sounds so perfectly, and it took them five years of recording and re-recording these songs until they had just the right mix of smoothness and immediacy. The hard work paid off: Days Are Gone is full of should-be hits like "The Wire," which boasts a big, fist-pumping beat and sassy guitar licks (they can only be called that). Compared to the thin voices of so many 2010s pop stars, singer Danielle Haims rich alto only adds to the groups throwback feel, but like her sisters, shes remarkably versatile. Over the course of the album, Haim captures and explores the nuances within the styles theyre reviving: theres the sweet soft rock of "Honey & I" or "Dont Save Me," the title tracks tight synth-pop, and the dark, driving territory of "Let Me Go" and "My Song 5," which, with its slinky melody and hard-hitting beats, makes the most of the trios much-touted R&B influences. This song, along with much of Days Are Gone, features production by Ariel Rechtshaid, whose work with Usher and Vampire Weekend proves he has the breadth to help Haim unite their ideas into a coherent sound. Still, its the writing that ultimately prevents Days Are Gone from being just an extremely accurate exercise in nostalgia. The best moments here, such as the bookends "Falling" and "Running If You Call My Name," would be great pop songs regardless of when they sound like theyre from. A debut album that could pass for a greatest-hits collection, Days Are Gone will provide musical comfort food for some, and possibly an introduction to irony-free pop for others. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 5 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2013 Released: 2013-10-08 Tracks: 8 Duration: 36:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Wire (live) (04:27) 2 Falling (live) (06:15) 3 Forever (live) (04:21) 4 Dont Save Me (live) (03:57) 5 Honey & I (live) (04:33) 6 Send Me Down (live) (04:31) 7 The Wire (04:06) 8 Forever (04:06) |
 | Album: 5 of 5 Title: Something to Tell You Released: 2017-07-07 Tracks: 11 Duration: 42:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Want You Back (03:52) 2 Nothing’s Wrong (03:09) 3 Little of Your Love (03:33) 4 Ready for You (03:45) 5 Something to Tell You (04:13) 6 You Never Knew (04:29) 7 Kept Me Crying (03:55) 8 Found It in Silence (04:23) 9 Walking Away (03:56) 10 Right Now (04:15) 11 Night So Long (03:04) |
| Something to Tell You : Allmusic album Review : During the years between Days Are Gone and Something to Tell You, Haim entered their mature phase -- which is saying something, since the 80s and 90s mainstream pop that makes up the backbone of their music isnt exactly impetuous-sounding to begin with. But where the Haim sisters made those influences seem not just fresh but inventive on their debut, this time they embrace their straightforwardness. More than ever, Haim calls to mind Sheryl Crow, Shania Twain, Amy Grant, and the eras other chart-toppers. They sound uncannily like Wilson Phillips on "Found It in Silence"s crisply empowering pop, and could pass for Fleetwood Mac on the throaty confessions of "Nothings Wrong." Something to Tell Yous best songs use this baked-in familiarity in equally reassuring and satisfying ways: As it strikes the perfect balance between heartfelt and glossy, the chorus of "Want You Back" feels like returning to an old flames arms. "Little of Your Love" and its perfectly timed breakdown are a testament to how well Haim uses pops most reliable tricks, while the irresistible beats and guitars on "Kept Me Crying" feel like a sadder, wiser callback to "The Wire," proving that while theres nothing as audacious as "My Song 5" here, the band hasnt extinguished its spark entirely. Too often, though, Something to Tell You crosses the line from familiar to predictable. Haim pairs ultra-smooth sounds with lyrics about love gone wrong that sound more than a little samey on the title track and "You Never Knew." And while Days Are Gone had hooks for days, this time Haims songwriting just isnt as attention-getting; production flourishes such as the processed backing vocals on "Ready for You" and "Right Now"s artfully rough guitars threaten to overpower the songs themselves. Moments like these add to the feeling that Haim are more focused on craft than excitement. The ways they refashioned vintage pop on Days Are Gone felt risky, but Something to Tell You offers safer, smaller pleasures. | ||