STACK July 2017 Issue 153

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thing HAIM
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10 JULY 2017
visit MUSIC FEATURE
Words Jonathan Alley
They’re a family band.’ No, They’re a ‘girl
band’. Or, ‘they sound like Fleetwood
Mac’. All of these lazy comparisons are
regularly aimed at Los Angeles natives Haim
(pronounced ‘Heim’ which comes from the
word for ‘life’ in Hebrew.) Yes, admittedly
there are three siblings in the band. The
Gallaghers, they are not. Hell, they’re not even
The Osmonds. And, yes ok, back in the mists
of time, before they could drink in pubs or
swear in front of their parents without getting
grounded, they were in a band with elder
Mater and Pater called ‘Rockenhaim’. And,
leave The Jackson/Partridge family comparisons
at the door, thanks. Danielle, Este and Alana
Haim (joined by the often invisible and highly
enigmatic Gentleman of the Drums, Dash
Hutton) are now serving up their new album
Something to Tell You for your listening pleasure,
and they’re landing in the middle of Splendour
in the Grass to boot.
In today’s music landscape, four years is
a small eternity. A lot can happen: icons can
die, Presidents can be elected, wars begin
and end, — the world can feel real different,
real fast and accordingly, music changes too.
But Haim remain resolutely themselves: it’s all
about the song, the emotion, and the delivery,
played and sung to perfection. That said, when
Haim took the plunge and entered the studio,
they set out deliberately to record ‘as a band’,
thus for-going endless overdubbing as individual
members play their parts, while the others
drink smoothies and browse their Instagam
feeds, waiting their turn. With Something to Tell
You, Haim were one in, all in . “We decided to
record as a band" says Danielle Haim "keeping it
a little more organic. That was a kind of mission
statement.” And while there’s always a certain
top-end sheen with Haim, they wanted to strike
a balance that was sweet and soulful. This
whole approach was captured beautifully in the
clip for Right Now, helmed by noted Hollywood
director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights,
On the eve of their Splendour in the Grass shows, Haim return with
new album
Something toTell You
. This time, they're owning it.