Tuesday 8 October 2013

Three HAIM Sisters Is A Treat



The three Haim sisters from Los Angels managed to cause quite a stir before even releasing an album. In their live shows they already revealed some of the songs that would make it onto their debut. A few catchy singles had many people looking forward to it with high anticipation. Last week Days Are Gone finally dropped and we're able to hear if it lives up to the hype.

HAIM - Days Are Gone (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)

Although the ladies seem to be coming out of nowhere they are not exactly beginners and play multiple instruments. They started out really young and already played in family band Rockinhaim with their parents. Guitar player Danielle and bassist Este were part of the all girl band Valli Girls that had some moderate success. Danielle also played with Jenny Lewis, singer Julian Casablancas (of The Strokes) on his solo tour and in Cee-Lo Green's backing band. According to critics the group sounds like a modern Fleetwood Mac with R&B influences. After listening to their record a few times this isn't such a bad comparison. Danielle has plenty of blues and classic rock licks on her sleeves. Este is adding playful bass grooves to the mix and youngest sister Alana spices up the mix with key parts. The only bloke of the group and none-family member, Dash Hutton, is the one to keep the ladies in control.

The sisters help him out with percussive elements throughout the album. It gives the songs a great drive especially in the up-tempo ones. Opener 'Forever' is a good example. With its staccato vocals it sounds even more rhythmic. Many songs are using percussion and repeating elements in a similar way. The start of the album is quite a strong one with three of their four singles in a row: 'Falling', 'Forever' and current single 'The Wire'. Their second single 'Don't Save Me', which gave them plenty of air-play, is halfway the record. Especially when listening to the beginning of 'If I Could Change Your Mind' Fleetwood Mac does come to mind. This is mostly because of Danielle's vocals. The electronic beats in 'My Song 5' are closer to R&B and hip hop.

You may think that a record company would rush out a full album as soon as possible and the rest of the songs are mostly fillers. That certainly is not the case. Most songs are just as strong as their singles and don't sound rushed at all. Plenty of effort has gone into making the album. Days Are Gone is a creative and sparkling sounding pop record with lots of variation. The girls are showcasing their talent and prove they are able to write good songs. In their live shows they add a bit of a rough edge to their music which is quite enjoyable. They will be touring for a while so there should be plenty of opportunities to catch them on stage.



Listen to Days Are Gone on Spotify.



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