Haim: The Trio Challenging Tradition in the Music Industry
In a multifaceted industry chock full of genre boundaries, ever-changing standards, & fickle consumers, there is one band that has remained stead-fast in their wish to not be limited by the rules of contemporary music: HAIM. Pronounced “Hy-im” rather than “Hay-m” (an admittedly easy mistake to make if you are not familiar with Hebrew), HAIM is an LA based alternative, soft-rock and pop band that is made up of the sister trio, Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim. As both singer-songwriters and musicians, the Haim sisters have been able to carefully curate their sound in a way that gives them a distinct voice, while still maintaining the unique quality of their music that sets them apart from the crowd. HAIM’s sound, in the simplest of terms, feels like the sultry soundtrack of a walk down the Venice Beach Boardwalk in the ‘80s. Through a seamless patchwork of ‘70s soft rock and ‘80s synth-pop, all tinged with a hint of classic R&B, HAIM was quickly able to achieve a discernible musical voice that’s genre-crossing techniques made them a rarity in the music industry.
In 2013, HAIM released their debut album, Days Are Gone. Immediately gaining traction with the alternative music audience, Days Are Gone was the recipient of various accolades, landing a place in both Rolling Stone’s, and American Songwriter’s 50 Best Albums of 2013. While the album produced several reputable songs, such as “Falling” and “Forever”, the most successful of the bunch was the upbeat, retro-sounding hit, “The Wire”. Written solely by Este, Danielle, and Alana, “The Wire” tells the story of a failed relationship, citing the narrator’s obvious commitment issues as the root cause. The song’s hook, “It felt right, but I fumbled it when it came down to the wire”, in addition to an addicting melody, catchy beat, and painfully relatable message, is what landed “The Wire” its spot on the charts in 2013.
While Days Are Gone and the success of “The Wire” put HAIM on the map, a lot of their commercial success and recognition is a bit more recent, and was aided by one of the biggest names in music. On December 11, 2020, Taylor Swift released her ninth studio album, Evermore. On it, is track 6: “no body, no crime” (feat. HAIM). This eerie song tells the tale of a small town murder mystery centralized around Este, her husband (who is non-existent), and Swift herself. While the tragic tale of Este’s murder is obviously fiction, this unique storytelling technique in conjucntion with HAIM’s feature immediately caught the attention of Swift’s fans, pulling the band right into the center of perhaps the most passionate fanbase to date. It also soon became clear that Swift has a legitimate friendship withall three sisters, posting a casual picture of the four of them on her instagram eating pizza in their pajamas. While HAIM’s success can in no way be accredited to Swift, the band’s feature on Evermore and friendship with the singer-songwriter did help them become a bit more commercial, as well as giving them a popularity boost among Swift’s large fan base.
No description of HAIM’s discography would be complete without the inclusion of their most recent studio album, Women in Music Pt. III. Released in June of 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Women in Music Pt. III is perhaps the band's most raw, vulnerable, and musically experimental album to date, giving listeners an unfiltered glimpse into the personal lives of Danielle, Este, and Alana. Through Women in Music Pt. III, HAIM utilizes their music as a form of catharsis, accepting and reconciling feelings of loneliness, depression, and pain, as well as making an important commentary on misogyny in the music industry. This is reflected not only through tracks like “Man from the Magazine” and “The Steps”, but also through the album’s cover art, which ironically pictures the three sisters behind the counter of an LA deli surrounded by hanging sausages. Stylistically, Women in Music Pt. III follows no specific genre or pattern, boundlessly combining variations of jazz, pop, hip-hop, pop, reggae, and electropop. This free and limitless approach to the album was not only the band’s goal, but also what made it stand out against other releases in 2020. While Women in Music Pt. III was nominated for Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, it ultimately lost out to Taylor Swift’s smash hit, Folklore.
HAIM’s eclectic contributions to the music industry have, and will hopefully continue to, add to the artistry of alternative music. Whether you are a current HAIM fan, a prospective one, or have never spent a minute of your time listening to their music, we hope that this gave you a little insight into a band with not only limitless talent, but also limitless potential to help shape the music industry.
Written by Emma Ehle, Photography: Abbi Roane, Social Media: Ferrell Tugman