‘Days are Gone’ is the much awaited debut album by ‘Haim’, three sisters from San Fernando Valley, California humming golden sunny lands full of promise and inspiration. Though first we start a thousand miles from California in Aylesbury, the balding, complaining fat man in the crowd of Buckinghamshire towns, where I spent my teenage years. I am stuck for some undefined amount of time. I feel lost much like the masses listening to mediocre pop music “genius” at the moment cluttering assembly line charts (I’ll address the real music lovers here not those stupid kids that hang on David Guetta’s every stagnant dance beat because it’s what they listen to on a “crunk” Friday night), I’d love someone to take me by the hand and lead me through life, out of this forest of frauds. I need some form of escapism so I put my headphones in and blast ‘Days are gone’ and drift to a world far away from the Aylesbury Vale.
The fanciful tale of the three little Haim girls goes something like this:
“Once apon a time three little girls lived in a place of sunshine and beauty called San Fernando Valley. The oldest of these gifted children was Este; the middle child and most alluring Danielle and the spritely youngest girl Alana. Their Hebrew Father and American Mother played the magical music of their time of 70’s Classic rock and Americana music to inspire these impressionable talented children. As soon as the girls were old enough to sing, Father Haim earnestly formed a family band ‘Rockhaim’ to play to all the people of the Valley in special parties and occasions of celebration. And so the Haim girls spent their days riding motorcycles through the sunny streets, running through lush Californian forests, practicing their music in the Living room of their parents house (if the depictions in the music videos of ‘Forever’ and ‘Falling’ are to be full-truth of their upbringing) and breaking the hearts of young boys through San Fernando. One day a man wishing to create a formulative pop group of five girls heard the Haim-girls sing but he only wanted the oldest two girls……..”
… At this point the story turns into a cheesy, teen-pop female equivalent of a Jonas Brothers nightmare. Este and Danielle joined the manufactured, “All American Girls” pop group The Valli Girls. “We’re just ourselves. What you see is what you get” … a quote I’m sure the now 27 year old and Ethnomusicologist graduate Este wishes she could go back to rip the blond hair extensions she wore as a valli girl from her naive teenager head than hear again. Yet musicians must ‘pay-their-dues’ in the industry and the Haim-sisters quit the band and pursued other musical paths.
“….But the Haim girls were destined for more. They united under their family name and play their inspired and inherited folk-rock like their heroes Fleetwood, with the drum beats of Phil Collins/Genesis and Destiny’s Child..”
Whoa!! Destiny’s Child? Yes the Haim girls have simmered in the music of their youth creating “folk-rock with a few R+B/ Hip-Hop styling’s thrown in for good measure”. And how sweet the vitality of this recipe tastes. Such things as the Synth licks scattered around the chorus of ‘If I could change your mind’ add something of that R+B influence the girls talked of, sounding like a Whitney Houston ballad, without the tedious cheese. Credit must be given to producer, James Ford (who recently worked with the Artic Monkeys on 2013 album AM) for his clear ‘studio polish’ and input, particularly in ‘My Song 5’ adding the ‘Dr Dre beat’ and bass adding a sassily sexual feel to this song of a girl scorned and lied to by a cheating man- “Honey I’m not your Honey-pie”.
This debut ‘Days Are Gone’, struck some issues with me with the first three tracks disappointing me. Not musically, they are brilliant punchy 80’s pop inspired tracks establishing the well publicized concept of this being a ‘break-up’ album. No I am irritated for myself and other patient fans of this band as these tracks have not only being featured on the promising E.P of ‘Forever’ released a lifetime ago; back in February 2012 but are exactly the same studio version. In fact three more songs on this debut: ‘Don’t Save Me’, ‘Go Slow’ and ‘Send me Down’ have been released before and are in exactly the same state. This feels like laziness but ‘spunky’ sisters of Haim have been rather busy in the past year and a half; touring with big names such as Ke$ha, Florence and the Machine and Mumford and Sons in the States in August 2012 as well as the festival season, overdoing it slightly at Glastonbury; “I almost died at Glastonbury”, the oldest sister Este said after suffering a diabetic attack during their set.
Since they first emerged Haim have been proposed as the ‘Fleetwood Mac’ inspired girl rock-pop group. The main vocalist Danielle, the more smooth but reserved of the girls, does not possess the vocals of endearing rawness that remind you of Stevie Nicks yet there is potential for the vulnerability and emotion recognised in Nicks style in songs like ‘Edge’ and ‘Running if you call my name’ . It just feels like she’s holding back, not doing the lyrics of the songs the emotional justice they deserve and trying to keep the ‘Cool-rock guitar girl’ persona she probably held well when playing with Julian Casablancas but needs to burst out of if she is to be the front-girl she could be. Through perhaps been in a band with members of her family forces one to ride in the ‘back seat’ with her sisters, rather than drive.
Clearly extremely comfortable in each other’s company (as you would be with people you grew up with) they have a charming energy through focusing on their music, there seems to be a unity, a bond that is in their musical blood like those shared genes mean they are on the same wave-length fusing their musical ideas together. Their music is so tight that I’d be advising parents to create little touring-toddlers if they could produce what these girls have.
The frequent use of three part harmonies between the girls are so tight and blend so well together, a quality that only the 21 years of being musical prodigies together could produce. ‘Days are gone’ and ‘The Wire’ allow the different voices of Este and Alana to take the main spot for a bit which adds a nice variation with their unique voices.
The family name “Haim” quite fittingly means ‘life’ in Hebrew. Everything about these girls breathes life! Their interviews give stage to an array of bizarre but entertaining activities- Tap dancing, dance routines learned from MTV during their childhood (‘Hit me baby One more time’, the first time I’ve appreciated a creative output of Britney Spears in around a decade) or Himalayan Throat singing . They come across as dorky and self-admitting ‘nerds’, but are also extremely out-going particularly the oldest sister Este, who seems to negate the typical ‘quiet moody bassist’ figure, is the most infectiously humorous (“You must be Irish cause my penis is Dublin”) much to the embarrassment of her two sisters. Yet they definitely have gumption and ambition –“we’re Haim and we’ll kick your ass”.
This band of young girls is the antithesis of Aylesbury. It feels like a breath of life but completely acknowledging everything that has happened that is important to these girls, musically and in their lovelorn personal lives. They pull through it recognising that at times when life gets difficult you have to step up –“if it gets rough it’s time to get rough”. So thank you Haim for bursting with ‘life’, shining it all over pop music and may the chronicles of the Haim Fairy-tale continue. Just never visit Aylesbury or you’re talent and ambition may be sucked out of you.
the music Mine 