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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Haim's new album gives vivid shape to a hard-to-define phase
Haim's 'I Quit' is not quite a breakup album and not quite a moving-on album; rather, the fourth LP by this beloved Los Angeles sister trio lands somewhere between those tried-and-true schemes: Its title inspired, the Haims have said, by a third-act mic drop in the cult-fave 1996 movie 'That Thing You Do!,' 'I Quit' is about looking back from the middle distance on a relationship that didn't work and assessing what you learned (and what you didn't) from the experience. 'Can I have your attention, please, for the last time before I leave?' Danielle Haim sings over a trembling acoustic guitar riff to open the album with 'Gone.' Then: 'On second thought, I changed my mind.' In 'All Over Me,' she's exulting in the erotic thrill of a new situationship — 'Take off your clothes / Unlock your door / 'Cause when I come over / You're gonna get some' — while warning the guy not to get out over his skis as any kind of partner. Este Haim takes over lead vocals for 'Cry,' in which she's unsure of her place in the seven stages of grief: 'I'm past the anger, past the rage, but the hurt ain't gone.' How to musicalize such a state of transition? On 'I Quit,' which Danielle co-produced with Rostam Batmanglij, the sisters do it with songs that go in multiple directions at once, as in 'Relationships,' which sounds like 'Funky Divas' meets 'Tango in the Night,' and 'Everybody's Trying to Figure Me Out,' a deconstructed blues strut that bursts into psych-pop color in the chorus. They do it by trying new things, as in the shoegazing 'Lucky Stars' and 'Spinning,' which has Alana Haim cooing breathily over a shuffling disco beat. (In some ways, 'I Quit' feels closely aligned with the newly sexed-up 'Sable, Fable' by Bon Iver, whose Justin Vernon was involved in a couple of songs on this album.) The Haims also do it, of course, by revisiting familiar comforts: 'Gone' samples George Michael's 'Freedom! '90'; 'Down to Be Wrong' evokes the blistered euphoria of peak Sheryl Crow; 'Now It's Time,' for some goofy reason, borrows the industrial-funk groove from U2's 'Numb.' Read more: How Jensen McRae became L.A.'s next great songwriter Nostalgia figures into the lyrics too, but it's all very sharply drawn, as in 'Take Me Back,' a caffeinated folk-rock shimmy where Danielle is thinking about the people she used to know in the Valley — 'David only wants to do what David wants / Had a bald spot, now it's a parking lot' — and how much easier things were when she'd cruise Kling Street 'looking for a place to park in an empty parking lot just so you can feel me up.' (Great guitar solo in this one.) In 'Down to Be Wrong,' she looks out from her window seat on a flight to somewhere and sees 'the street where we used to sleep' — a reference, one presumes, to her ex Ariel Rechtshaid, who helped produce Haim's first three albums and whose presence looms here like a phantom. Case in point: ''We want to see you smiling,' said my mother on the hill,' Danielle sings in the loping country ballad 'The Farm,' 'But the distance keeps widening between what I let myself say and what I feel.' Oof. Yet on an album about choosing who to leave behind and who to collide with for the first time, 'The Farm's" emotional climax comes in a touching verse where one of Danielle's sisters tells her she's welcome to crash 'if you need a place to calm down till you get back on your feet.' The upheaval won't last; family is forever. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Haim: I Quit review – Ferociously catchy, satisfyingly grudge-bearing
I Quit Artist : Haim Label : Polydor Rock music arrives at the quarter mark of the 21st century in a strange place. To the extent that anything interesting is happening, it is largely in the margins. Out in the daylight this is the era of the big beasts of antiquity: Oasis on the comeback trail, the middle-aged happy chappies Coldplay making it their mission to sprinkle the world in figurative and literal confetti, U2 trying to work out what to do next. Significantly, the most streamed band on Spotify are Imagine Dragons, a pop act with a passing familiarity with guitars. Thank goodness, then, for Haim. There is something hugely cheering about the return of these three sisters from the San Fernando Valley, in southern California, whose bittersweet soft rock is proof that, between the indie underground and the stadium cash grab, there is still a third way. Since their debut, a decade ago, they have championed such delightfully old-fashioned values as sun-kissed guitar anthems fuelled by heartache, melancholy and zinging melodies that insist on being hummed aloud. READ MORE They've also had to overcome being dismissed as pop fodder early in their careers. Still, in their teens they resisted attempts to turn them into a chart group dancing to the tune of behind-the-scenes producers and composers. 'We were scouted as teenagers, and it was kind of a horror story,' Este , the eldest of the sisters, told Irish journalists in 2014. 'It was terrible; we were turned off the business for a while. The songs were already written – they only wanted us to play. That was an instructive experience. Immediately we were, like, 'From now on we will write all our own stuff.'' To paraphrase their musical heroes Fleetwood Mac, they were determined to go their own way. That journey moves up to the next level on their ferociously catchy and satisfyingly grudge-bearing fourth album, I Quit. Showcasing the wonderfully vituperative songwriting of Danielle Haim , the middle sister – she's had her heart broken, and you're going to hear all about it – it makes the bold statement that rock music can be catchy and cathartic without pandering to the lowest common denominator. With Danielle producing alongside the former Vampire Weekend member Rostam Batmanglij, I Quit exits the traps at speed. All Over Me is a steamy chunk of acoustic funk whose narrator dreams of healing their broken heart with a quick hook-up. Take Me Back, meanwhile, is chiming folk pop that bubbles with retro goodness, recalling at moments Joni Mitchell and REM. The album's title is a reference to the band's mission statement of not being caught in a rut. The goal is 'quitting something that isn't working for us any more', according to Alana Haim (who is best known outside the band for starring in Paul Thomas Anderson's Liquorice Pizza ). Nor is it entirely a Danielle show. Este takes lead vocals on Cry, the most country-oriented moment on the epic 15-track run time. ('Seven stages of grief and I don't know which I'm on,' she croons in a lyric that draws from the big book of country-rock cliches.) A youthful vivacity runs through the project – a consequence, they have revealed, of the three sisters all being single for the first time since high school. 'I think it really brought up this nostalgic [feeling] for the last time we were single, when I was, like, 14, 15, 16,' Alana told BBC Radio. 'It's just been amazing to kind of, like, go back and relive those times [and] get back into it.' There is little in the way of surprises – aside from one curveball at the end, when Now It's Time samples the U2 song Numb, a highlight from the days when Bono and friends were more interested in pushing themselves sonically than putting bums on seats. It is a haunting reminder of the more experimental band U2 might have been and a winning conclusion to a charming LP. Haim could never be accused of blazing originality: this is a great album forged from the DNA of other great albums. But it is catchy, brash and bittersweet – and refuses to take prisoners. With so much going on, I Quit is an urgent call to the world not to give up on rock quite yet.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Music Review: HAIM return with a superb and salty breakup album
HAIM has declared this season to be 'single-girl summer' and offered us the soundtrack. Heartsick never sounded so good. 'I Quit,' the fourth full-length album from the trio, is a breakup collection that never gets too weepy. You can dance to a lot of it. Even the song 'Cry,' which name-checks the seven stages of grief, is an upbeat bop. Six years after the trio released their jazzy, Lou Reed-y single 'Summer Girl,' the mood has somewhat soured this summer. Across 15 tracks, the songs are about fresh splits, old wounds and newfound independence. 'Now I'm gone/Quick as a gunshot/Born to run/Can't be held up,' go the lyrics for the opening track 'Gone,' which samples from George Michael's anthem of liberty 'Freedom! '90.' Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim found themselves all single for the first time in a long time while making the album, looking back with equal parts venom and guilt. 'You know I'm trying to change/'Cause I know I'm not innocent,' goes 'Love You Right.' 'The Farm' has a rootsy twang, 'Down to be Wrong' has a Sheryl Crow vibe and 'Take Me Back' has a Go-Go's feel. 'Love You Right' is pure Fleetwood Mac harmonies, even making reference to a chain. 'Spinning' is a slice of house bliss with overlapping harmonies, easily the most danceable Haim song since 'I Want You Back.' The wistful, warm 'Million Years' leans into electronica. The bluesy 'Blood on the Street' has more vitriol ('I swear you wouldn't care/If I was covered in blood lying dead on the street') but ends with freedom: 'Now the sun's up, I'm out, and that's that.' And 'Relationships' is a standout on a standout album, with Danielle Haim's falsetto exploring the agony of romantic ties and her sister's bass thumping. But the best song has to be 'Everybody's Trying to Figure Me Out,' in which each Haim shines as tempos change and the song morphs from folk to indie rock to blissed-out '70s, with the final mantra: 'You think you're gonna die/But you're not gonna die.' The album is co-produced by Danielle Haim and HAIM's frequent collaborator Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. The trio's usual producer, Ariel Rechtshaid, split with Danielle Haim, which may account for the new energy. The album closer, 'Now It's Time,' interpolates U2's industrial-pop song 'Numb,' adds cool drum rhythms and an Alanis Morissette-like strut, ending with an exhilarating jam session. 'It's time/To let go,' says the lyrics. Not to this album. ___ More AP reviews:
CNN
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Look of the Week: Haim sisters make the case for the return of the skinny jean
On Tuesday, Este, Alana and Danielle Haim — the sister trio behind the eponymous pop rock band Haim — arrived in London for an appearance on BBC Radio One. All wore skinny pants, albeit in their own way, effortlessly demonstrating how to style a controversial mid-aughts staple three ways. Este, the eldest sister, styled her edgy low-rise black leather pants with a solid patent heel and a lace-trimmed camisole. Alana — also known to fans as 'baby Haim' — opted for a more bohemian look with patchwork suede blue skinny jeans from Dolce & Gabbana, finished off with black ballet flats and a forest green leather jacket. Danielle, the band's lead singer, wore more industrial denim finished with silver zips and extra stitching. Her white military-style jacket, complete with gold-trimmed epaulets, was cropped at the waist in classic 2010s style — allowing a layered look with the vest underneath. The slim, skinny pant was a mainstay of wardrobes across the west in 2007 to 2018, seemingly stocked everywhere from fast fashion stores to luxury retailers. They were once a great leveller, beloved by nonchalant British 'It girls' Kate Moss and Alexa Chung as much as slick US stars such as Rihanna and Beyoncé (there are few occasions where Kim Kardashian and Amy Winehouse's sartorial taste crossed, and the skinny jean was one of them). But as the style makes a 2025 comeback, it has been met with polarized opinions. On X, one user quipped that the return of skinny jeans marked the biggest 'recession indicator' yet. In March, a series of street interviews with young people conducted by social media and influencer agency Screenshot spotlighted a shared disdain for skinny jeans as a fashion trend. But there have long been indicators of a changing tide — and shrinking silhouette. At the start of the year, WGSN's senior denim strategist Susie Draffan shared her predictions with CNN, which included a 'very slow-burn return in 2025 for the skinny jean' in the face of catwalk appearances and growing Miu and McQueen all sent vacuum-packed-style denim down the Fall-Winter runways in 2024. Unofficial trend barometer Bella Hadid has also been spotted in tight drainpipe denim (styled with chunky boots) during a recent trip to Rome, while Lila Moss carries on the family name by pioneering the skinny style just like her pioneering the skinny style just like her mother. The Haim sisters have recently been delving into other areas of 2000s-era pop culture — including their own yearbook photos — to promote their new album, 'I Quit .' The visual artwork for singles like 'Relationships' and 'Everybody's Trying to Figure Me Out' reference famous paparazzi shots of Nicole Kidman shouting with relief (allegedly after signing her divorce papers with Tom Cruise in 2001) and Kate Moss in 2000 sunning herself against a black SUV. For their most recent single, 'Take Me Back,' the band shared an image shot in Manchester — each dressed in a pair of extremely low-slung jeans and peek-a-boo lacy briefs — that has been compared by fans to a much-circulated 2004 pap shot of Keira Knightly wearing a similar outfit. It seems fitting, then, that Haim's own paparazzi photographs add to the feedback loop of act like an extension of their album narrative. Shot by Terence O'Connor, their staged images are a case of art imitating life. But the sisters are going one step further by blurring the lines between reality and reference as they commit to the sartorial touchstones of 2000s culture round-the-clock, too.
Wales Online
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Este Haim describes relationship with health condition
Este Haim describes relationship with health condition The Haim bassist had advised her then-partner that there was a chance her future children could also develop the condition Este Haim, Alana Haim, and Danielle Haim will release their fourth album in June (Image: Getty Images for Prime Video ) Este Haim's boyfriend dumped her because she has diabetes. The Haim bassist - who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, where the body is unable to produce insulin correctly, when she was 14 years old - had advised her then-partner that there was a chance her future children could also develop the condition, and was stunned when his reaction was to end their relationship. In an interview with Britain's GQ magazine, Este said: "I had a guy break up with me because I said that there was a possibility that our kid would have diabetes. "He was like, 'Then why are we here?' And I was like, 'What?!'" The Haim sisters have been sharing their dating woes on TikTok in honour of their new single 'Relationships', and Alana Haim admitted one story she'd told was worse than she described on the platform, having ignored advice from her siblings and flown from Los Angeles to London for New Year's Eve to meet a mystery musician she'd been dating for a year, only for him to high-five her at midnight and for it to later emerge that he'd been cheating on her. She said: "I was 20, and I was so in love with this guy in a band. Everyone thinks it's about another guy and it's not him, that theory is wrong." Article continues below Discussing flying over to the UK over the festive period, she added: "And then he ghosted me the whole week. "And then I found out he was cheating on me with his ex... I was devastated. Devastated!" Alana Haim, 33, also recalled another horror story, which saw her dump her boyfriend after he issued her an ultimatum when she was offered a role in 2021's 'Licorice Pizza', but she has no regrets. She said: "I had a boyfriend that gave me an ultimatum between doing 'Licorice Pizza' and staying with him. "I obviously made the right choice ..." Singer Danielle Haim, 36, split up with the band's co-producer Ariel Rechtshaid in 2022 after nine years together, but she has learned she is more than "okay alone". Article continues below She said: "Not only okay, but so happy. Sorry to be that bitch but I'm like, really having a great time being by myself. And now, unless someone's gonna make me so much more happy, I'm good." Este announced her engagement to Jonathan Levin in February. Sharing a selfie on Instagram at the time, she showed off a sparkly diamond ring on her wedding finger, and donned a blue t-shirt that read "I'm taken".
