HAIM — „Women in Music Pt. III“ [Expanded Edition]
HAIM — „Women in Music Pt. III“ [Expanded Edition](June 26, 2020/2021) ⇑ Možná si myslíte, že jste si Haim zafixovali na zeď v určitém konkrétním stylu. Kalifornské sestry vytvořily jedno brilantní „Days Are Gone“ (2013) a jedno docela slušné album klasického rocku a hi~fi popu prosluněného sluncem „Something to Tell You“ (2017), které unapologeticky sundává čepici Fleetwood Mac. S příchodem jejich třetí celovečerní verze je konečně čas tento pohled revidovat. Při svém prvním vydání od roku 2017 Something To Tell You se trio z této vyšlapané cesty ani tak nevzdaluje, spíše je to podobné tomu, když vezmeš kladivem své zaprášené kameny a střepy rozhodíš nesčetnými novými směry.
⇑ Trio se uvolnilo, rozšířilo svůj zvuk a vytvořilo své první mistrovské dílo plné vztahových známek, které se vztahovaly věrnosti životu. „Jakmile přestanete hledat, najdete to.“ To je něco, co jednotlivým lidem při hledání lásky vždy řeknou, a je to velmi nepříjemné — dvojnásobně, když se to vždy ukáže jako pravda. Hudba je možná stejná: pokud se vydáte najít perfektního partnera, nakonec kolem nich projdete, a pokud se pokusíte napsat perfektní píseň, nedostane se vám to. Když pak nečinně pracujete na něčem jiném, najednou to tam je. ⇑ Třetí album tria je zdaleka nejlepší. Intimní, vícerozměrné a rozsáhlé psaní písní září vlivem velkých osobností a jasným citem pro melodii a styl. Haim sdílí rozšířené vydání „Women in Music Pt. III“ s Taylor Swift a umělcem, zvaným Thundercat. Minutáž rozšířilo z původních 41:40 na 58:08. ⇑ Swift dříve spolupracovala s Danielle a Este Haim na písni „No Body, No Crime“ z alba Evermore (Dec. 11, 2020). Téhož měsíce Haim vypustily remix Toro Y Moi „3 AM“. V únoru 2020 se kapela objevila v hudebním videu Thundercat (vl. jménem Stephen Lee Bruner (b. October 19, 1984) pro „Dragonball Durag“ — 9. píseň alba „It Is What It Is“, které má v UNCUT a Exclaim! hodnocení 9/10. Haim jsou v současné době nominováni ve dvou kategoriích na 63rd Annual Grammy Awards 2021, včetně alba roku pro „Women in Music Pt. III“ (což z nich dělá první ženskou rockovou kapelu, která byla nominována v této kategorii) a Rock Performance díky songu „The Steps“. Minulý týden vydala Taylor Swift „Love Story (Taylor’s Version)“, první singl z jejích plánovaných re~nahrávek jejích prvních šesti alb. Nová verze „Love Story“ bude zahrnuta na Fearless (Taylor’s Version), což je re~nahrávka jejího druhého alba z roku 2008, která bude obsahovat šest nových písní, které Swift napsala v době relací Fearless. Ačkoli Swift oficiálně neoznámila datum vydání alba, zveřejnila na Twitteru písemné prohlášení, které obsahovalo skrytou zprávu s velkými písmeny, v níž bylo uvedeno „Devátý duben“. Zástupce Taylor Swift později potvrdil datum vydání magazínu Rolling Stone. Album má nejvyšší výroční hodnocení v Under the Radar: Top 100 Albums of 2020 — #3. Další hodnocení: The Daily Telegraph 5/5 stars, The Guardian 5/5 stars, The Independent 5/5 stars a NME shodně 5/5 stars. ⇑ Rostam Batmanglij je Peršan (رستم باتمانقلیچ), 3x byl nominován na Grammy Awards, kromě této nahrávky ještě 2x Best Alternative Music Album s Vampire Weekend (winning for „Modern Vampires of the City“, May 14, 2013. American Albums Chart #1 a 5 dalších prvenství). Location: San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Album release: June 26, 2020 Record Label: Columbia Duration: 58:08 Tracks: 01. Los Angeles 3:20 02. The Steps 4:08 03. I Know Alone 3:46 04. Up from a Dream 3:17 05. Gasoline 3:13 06. 3am 3:10 07. Don’t Wanna 3:22 08. Another Try 3:26 09. Leaning On You 3:22 10. I’ve Been Down 2:51 11. Man from the Magazine 2:07 12. All That Ever Mattered 2:31 13. FUBT 3:13 14. Gasoline 3:13 15. 3am 3:09 16. Now I’m in It (Bonus Track) 3:24 17. Hallelujah (Bonus Track) 3:11 18. Summer Girl (Bonus Track) 3:25 Notes: ⇑ „Summer Girl“ obsahuje část skladby „Walk on the Wild Side“, kterou napsal Lou Reed. Haim: ★Danielle Haim — vocals (all tracks), electric guitar (1, 3~6, 10, 12, 14, 15), drums (1~5, 7~10, 12, 16), guitar (2, 7), drum programming (3, 6, 12), congas (8, 10, 14), acoustic guitar (9, 11, 14), synthesizer (12), lead guitar (13), bass programming (16) ★Este Haim — bass (1, 2, 4~12, 14), vocals (1~10, 12–16), upright bass (16), ★Alana Haim — organ (1), piano (1), bass (1), vocals (1~10, 12~16), acoustic guitar (2, 9, 11), shaker (2), electric guitar (4~6, 8, 10, 12), guitar (7, 16), lead guitar (13), congas (14) Additional musicians: ★Rostam Batmanglij — electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14), organ (1, 7, 10, 16), piano (1, 4, 10, 14), horn arrangement (1, 8, 10), 12~string guitar (2, 9), synthesizer (3, 4, 8, 13, 14, 16), side~chained bass (3), acoustic guitar (4~7, 9~11, 16), vocals (4, 6, 7, 9, 10), bass (5), Mellotron (5), accordion (5), CS~80 (5), drum programming (7, 8, 12~14, 16), mandolin (7), double bass (9), Orchestron (9), rhythm guitar (13), synth programming (14), string arrangement (15), shaker (16), slide guitar (16), saxophone arrangement (16) ★Cass McCombs — electric guitar (2, 4) ★Ariel Rechtshaid — synthesizer (2~4, 6, 7, 12, 14), bass (2, 4, 11), organ (2, 4), drum programming (3~6, 12~14), electric guitar (3, 12), acoustic guitar (3), vocals (3, 4, 6, 14), flange guitar (5), turntables (6), harmonium (9), hand drums (9), horn arrangement (10), synth programming (14), electric guitar drones (15), tambourine (16), additional drums (16), CDJ (16) ★Buddy Ross — organ (2), synth and drum programming (3), synthesizer (8, 14) ★Benji Lysaght — acoustic guitar (2), electric guitar (6) ★Philip Peterson — cello (3) ★Joe Thornally — spoken word (6) ★Tommy King – Chamberlin (6), harpsichord (6), synthesizer (6), piano (8), Juno (8), Mellotron (8), Yamaha PS~30 (8), Moog (8) ★JJ Kirkpatrick — trumpet (8) ★Julian Maclanahan — mandolin (9), violin (15) ★Henry Solomon — saxophone (1, 10, 16) ★Amir Yagmai — electric guitar (12) ★Jim~E Stack — drum programming (13) ★Jack Hallenbeck — synthesizer (13) ★ Rob Moose — violin (15), viola (15), string arrangement (15) ★Tobias Jesso Jr. — acoustic guitar (15) Engineers: ≡Ariel Rechtshaid — engineering (all tracks), mixing (6, 8, 10~13, 16) ≡ Rostam Batmanglij — engineering (all tracks), mixing (6, 8, 10~13, 16) ≡ John DeBold — engineering (all tracks) ≡ Joey Messina Doerning — engineering (1~13) ≡ Tristan Friebderg Rodman — engineering (1, 9, 15) ≡ Matt DiMona — engineering (1~10, 12), assistance (14~16) ≡ Jasmine Chen — engineering (1~7, 10), assistance (14~16) ≡Chris Kasych — engineering (2, 6, 8, 16) ≡ Dave Schiffman — engineering (4, 5) ≡ Dalton Ricks — engineering (4, 14, 16) ≡ Michael Harris — engineering (15, 16) ≡ Grace Banks — engineering (15, 16) ≡ Nate Head — engineering (16) ≡ Dave Fridmann — mixing (1, 4, 9) ≡ Tom Elmhirst — mixing (2, 3, 5, 7, 15) ≡ Manny Marroquin — mixing (14) ≡ Shawn Everett — mixing (12,16) ≡ Chris Galland — mix engineering (14) ≡ Robin Florent — mix assistance (14) ≡ Scott Desmarais — mix assistance (14) ≡ Jeremie Inhaber — mix assistance (14) ≡ Matt Scatchell — mix assistance (2, 3, 5, 7, 15) ≡ Emily Lazar — mastering ≡ Chris Allgood — mastering assistance Artwork: ♠Paul Thomas Anderson — photography, art direction ♠Erica Frauman — photography, art direction ♠Florencia Martin — photography, art direction ♠Sergie Loobkoff — photography, art direction ♠Maria Paula Marulanda — design ♠Marek Polewski — design Review by Aimee Cliff⌊JUNE 25 2020⌋ Score: 8.6 BEST NEW MUSIC ⇑ The new edition includes a remix of the WIMPIII track “Gasoline” featuring Taylor Swift, and a remix of “3AM” featuring Thundercat. ⇑ It’s well known that the only three people who take long walks through the streets of Los Angeles are Haim. The image of the trio striding or line~dancing their way around the city is indelibly linked to their music: cool, confident, full of momentum. The videos to accompany their third album, Women in Music Part III, nod to the strolls of the past and add in a few new twists. In “Now I’m in It,” directed again by Paul Thomas Anderson, bassist Este and guitarist Alana carry Danielle (lead vocals, guitar, production) on a stretcher; when Danielle is revived and joins her sisters for their signature walk, she casts a knowing glance straight to camera. ⇓ In another video, they’re trailed by a gloomy saxophonist; in another, they stand rooted to the spot. These videos show the evolution of Haim, whose songwriting on WIMPIII is likewise more nuanced, more self~aware, and frequently darker than ever before. ⇑ The biting satire of the album’s title is something of a red herring for its explicitly personal content. In interviews, each sister has described a personal trauma that she brought to the studio. Alana has spoken of the grief she suffered when a best friend passed away at age 20, and Este has talked about the low points of living with Type 1 diabetes. Most felt is Danielle’s deep depression; she traces its origin to when her partner (and co~producer) Ariel Rechtshaid was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2015. ⇑ Historically, Haim’s lyrics have been conversational and straightforward: emotionally incisive, sure, but usually vague enough that you could easily place yourself inside them. On WIMPIII, though, Danielle writes in vivid scenes, pulling you inside her personal depression fog. She blinks awake and finds herself at the wheel of her car; she watches TV and stares at the ceiling; she goes to the boulevard and can’t stop crying. On the stomping country~rock of “I’ve Been Down,” she sings about taping up the windows of her house, adding sardonically, “But I ain’t dead yet.” Elsewhere, the sisters cut and paste the most offensive interview questions they’ve faced from music journalists (“Do you make the same faces in bed?”) into a candid folk song that channels the spirit of Joni Mitchell. ⇑ Danielle was also inspired by André 3000’s solo album The Love Below, an exploratory record that sewed together disparate genres with uninhibited slapstick humor. While WIMPIII is more theatrical than Haim have been before — there’s the gasp that opens the underwater rock song “Up From a Dream,” the “you up?” voicemail skits on “3 AM” — the most obvious similarity is in the band’s newfound musical fluidity. These songs shift gears, often eschewing Haim’s usual summery rock to find the right genre for the mood, sometimes containing different shades within the same track. “All That Ever Mattered” peppers Danielle’s vocals with distorted screams and a mumbled interjection of “fuck no,” before pirouetting away into a glam~rock guitar solo. “3 AM” and “Another Try” flirt with falsetto~driven funk and R&B, and “I Know Alone,” a song about depression~scrolling and sleeping through the day, contains dusty echoes of UK garage. ⇑ Not every song feels like a pioneering event. “Don’t Wanna” could have lived on any of Haim’s three albums: a tight pop~rock song built around an irrepressible guitar lick and an oblique story of a relationship in trouble. But their most exciting trips go off the beaten path, like the crystalline sad banger “Now I’m in It” — a song that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Taylor Swift’s Lover. This may be the first Haim album that steps out of its retro groove long enough to draw parallels with other contemporary pop music, specifically Rechtshaid and Danielle’s recent work with Vampire Weekend. Having long since proven their chops when it comes to writing a breezy 1970s~style rock song, they now sound comfortable enough within their niche to push beyond it. ⇑ WIMPIII is bookended by two songs about L.A., both featuring a saxophone and wistful “doot~do~do” backing vocals. On the first, “Los Angeles,” Danielle describes falling out of love with her hometown. But in the final song, “Summer Girl” — while its melody hits a similarly melancholic vein — she interpolates Lou Reed as she sings about the relief of coming home to L.A. from tour to be with her partner. She’s anguished when she sings that she’s “thinking ’bout leaving” the city, but hushed and reverent on a later line when she reflects on how much she misses it: “L.A. on my mind, I can’t breathe.” Placed beside each other, the two songs take on new dimensions. It’s Haim as we haven’t quite heard them before: not just eminently proficient musicians, entertainers, and “women in music,” but full of flaws and contradictions, becoming something much greater. ⇑ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/haim-women-in-music-pt-iii/ Ben Beaumont~Thomas, Thu 10 Dec 2020 06.00 GMT: ⇑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/10/the-best-albums-of-2020-no-7-haim-women-in-music-pt-iii By Andrew Trendell ⌊19th February 2021⌋ ⇑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/haim-taylor-swift-thundercat-gasoline-3am-women-in-music-pt-iii-listen-2883824 WEB: http://haimtheband.com/ WEB: https://www.taylorswift.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/haimtheband/ TW: https://twitter.com/haimtheband/ INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/haimtheband/
⇑ Možná si myslíte, že jste si Haim zafixovali na zeď v určitém konkrétním stylu. Kalifornské sestry vytvořily jedno brilantní „Days Are Gone“ (2013) a jedno docela slušné album klasického rocku a hi~fi popu prosluněného sluncem „Something to Tell You“ (2017), které unapologeticky sundává čepici Fleetwood Mac. S příchodem jejich třetí celovečerní verze je konečně čas tento pohled revidovat. Při svém prvním vydání od roku 2017 Something To Tell You se trio z této vyšlapané cesty ani tak nevzdaluje, spíše je to podobné tomu, když vezmeš kladivem své zaprášené kameny a střepy rozhodíš nesčetnými novými směry.
⇑ Trio se uvolnilo, rozšířilo svůj zvuk a vytvořilo své první mistrovské dílo plné vztahových známek, které se vztahovaly věrnosti životu. „Jakmile přestanete hledat, najdete to.“ To je něco, co jednotlivým lidem při hledání lásky vždy řeknou, a je to velmi nepříjemné — dvojnásobně, když se to vždy ukáže jako pravda. Hudba je možná stejná: pokud se vydáte najít perfektního partnera, nakonec kolem nich projdete, a pokud se pokusíte napsat perfektní píseň, nedostane se vám to. Když pak nečinně pracujete na něčem jiném, najednou to tam je.
⇑ Třetí album tria je zdaleka nejlepší. Intimní, vícerozměrné a rozsáhlé psaní písní září vlivem velkých osobností a jasným citem pro melodii a styl. Haim sdílí rozšířené vydání „Women in Music Pt. III“ s Taylor Swift a umělcem, zvaným Thundercat. Minutáž rozšířilo z původních 41:40 na 58:08.
⇑ Swift dříve spolupracovala s Danielle a Este Haim na písni „No Body, No Crime“ z alba Evermore (Dec. 11, 2020). Téhož měsíce Haim vypustily remix Toro Y Moi „3 AM“. V únoru 2020 se kapela objevila v hudebním videu Thundercat (vl. jménem Stephen Lee Bruner (b. October 19, 1984) pro „Dragonball Durag“ — 9. píseň alba „It Is What It Is“, které má v UNCUT a Exclaim! hodnocení 9/10. Haim jsou v současné době nominováni ve dvou kategoriích na 63rd Annual Grammy Awards 2021, včetně alba roku pro „Women in Music Pt. III“ (což z nich dělá první ženskou rockovou kapelu, která byla nominována v této kategorii) a Rock Performance díky songu „The Steps“. Minulý týden vydala Taylor Swift „Love Story (Taylor’s Version)“, první singl z jejích plánovaných re~nahrávek jejích prvních šesti alb. Nová verze „Love Story“ bude zahrnuta na Fearless (Taylor’s Version), což je re~nahrávka jejího druhého alba z roku 2008, která bude obsahovat šest nových písní, které Swift napsala v době relací Fearless. Ačkoli Swift oficiálně neoznámila datum vydání alba, zveřejnila na Twitteru písemné prohlášení, které obsahovalo skrytou zprávu s velkými písmeny, v níž bylo uvedeno „Devátý duben“. Zástupce Taylor Swift později potvrdil datum vydání magazínu Rolling Stone. Album má nejvyšší výroční hodnocení v Under the Radar: Top 100 Albums of 2020 — #3. Další hodnocení: The Daily Telegraph 5/5 stars, The Guardian 5/5 stars, The Independent 5/5 stars a NME shodně 5/5 stars.
⇑ Rostam Batmanglij je Peršan (رستم باتمانقلیچ), 3x byl nominován na Grammy Awards, kromě této nahrávky ještě 2x Best Alternative Music Album s Vampire Weekend (winning for „Modern Vampires of the City“, May 14, 2013. American Albums Chart #1 a 5 dalších prvenství).
Location: San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Album release: June 26, 2020
Record Label: Columbia
Duration: 58:08
Tracks:
01. Los Angeles 3:20
02. The Steps 4:08
03. I Know Alone 3:46
04. Up from a Dream 3:17
05. Gasoline 3:13
06. 3am 3:10
07. Don’t Wanna 3:22
08. Another Try 3:26
09. Leaning On You 3:22
10. I’ve Been Down 2:51
11. Man from the Magazine 2:07
12. All That Ever Mattered 2:31
13. FUBT 3:13
14. Gasoline 3:13
15. 3am 3:09
16. Now I’m in It (Bonus Track) 3:24
17. Hallelujah (Bonus Track) 3:11
18. Summer Girl (Bonus Track) 3:25
Notes:
⇑ „Summer Girl“ obsahuje část skladby „Walk on the Wild Side“, kterou napsal Lou Reed.
Haim:
★ Danielle Haim — vocals (all tracks), electric guitar (1, 3~6, 10, 12, 14, 15), drums (1~5, 7~10, 12, 16), guitar (2, 7), drum programming (3, 6, 12), congas (8, 10, 14), acoustic guitar (9, 11, 14), synthesizer (12), lead guitar (13), bass programming (16)
★ Este Haim — bass (1, 2, 4~12, 14), vocals (1~10, 12–16), upright bass (16),
★ Alana Haim — organ (1), piano (1), bass (1), vocals (1~10, 12~16), acoustic guitar (2, 9, 11), shaker (2), electric guitar (4~6, 8, 10, 12), guitar (7, 16), lead guitar (13), congas (14)
Additional musicians:
★ Rostam Batmanglij — electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14), organ (1, 7, 10, 16), piano (1, 4, 10, 14), horn arrangement (1, 8, 10), 12~string guitar (2, 9), synthesizer (3, 4, 8, 13, 14, 16), side~chained bass (3), acoustic guitar (4~7, 9~11, 16), vocals (4, 6, 7, 9, 10), bass (5), Mellotron (5), accordion (5), CS~80 (5), drum programming (7, 8, 12~14, 16), mandolin (7), double bass (9), Orchestron (9), rhythm guitar (13), synth programming (14), string arrangement (15), shaker (16), slide guitar (16), saxophone arrangement (16)
★ Cass McCombs — electric guitar (2, 4)
★ Ariel Rechtshaid — synthesizer (2~4, 6, 7, 12, 14), bass (2, 4, 11), organ (2, 4), drum programming (3~6, 12~14), electric guitar (3, 12), acoustic guitar (3), vocals (3, 4, 6, 14), flange guitar (5), turntables (6), harmonium (9), hand drums (9), horn arrangement (10), synth programming (14), electric guitar drones (15), tambourine (16), additional drums (16), CDJ (16)
★ Buddy Ross — organ (2), synth and drum programming (3), synthesizer (8, 14)
★ Benji Lysaght — acoustic guitar (2), electric guitar (6)
★ Philip Peterson — cello (3)
★ Joe Thornally — spoken word (6)
★ Tommy King – Chamberlin (6), harpsichord (6), synthesizer (6), piano (8), Juno (8), Mellotron (8), Yamaha PS~30 (8), Moog (8)
★ JJ Kirkpatrick — trumpet (8)
★ Julian Maclanahan — mandolin (9), violin (15)
★ Henry Solomon — saxophone (1, 10, 16)
★ Amir Yagmai — electric guitar (12)
★ Jim~E Stack — drum programming (13)
★ Jack Hallenbeck — synthesizer (13)
★ Rob Moose — violin (15), viola (15), string arrangement (15)
★ Tobias Jesso Jr. — acoustic guitar (15)
Engineers:
≡ Ariel Rechtshaid — engineering (all tracks), mixing (6, 8, 10~13, 16)
≡ Rostam Batmanglij — engineering (all tracks), mixing (6, 8, 10~13, 16)
≡ John DeBold — engineering (all tracks)
≡ Joey Messina Doerning — engineering (1~13)
≡ Tristan Friebderg Rodman — engineering (1, 9, 15)
≡ Matt DiMona — engineering (1~10, 12), assistance (14~16)
≡ Jasmine Chen — engineering (1~7, 10), assistance (14~16)
≡ Chris Kasych — engineering (2, 6, 8, 16)
≡ Dave Schiffman — engineering (4, 5)
≡ Dalton Ricks — engineering (4, 14, 16)
≡ Michael Harris — engineering (15, 16)
≡ Grace Banks — engineering (15, 16)
≡ Nate Head — engineering (16)
≡ Dave Fridmann — mixing (1, 4, 9)
≡ Tom Elmhirst — mixing (2, 3, 5, 7, 15)
≡ Manny Marroquin — mixing (14)
≡ Shawn Everett — mixing (12,16)
≡ Chris Galland — mix engineering (14)
≡ Robin Florent — mix assistance (14)
≡ Scott Desmarais — mix assistance (14)
≡ Jeremie Inhaber — mix assistance (14)
≡ Matt Scatchell — mix assistance (2, 3, 5, 7, 15)
≡ Emily Lazar — mastering
≡ Chris Allgood — mastering assistance
Artwork:
♠ Paul Thomas Anderson — photography, art direction
♠ Erica Frauman — photography, art direction
♠ Florencia Martin — photography, art direction
♠ Sergie Loobkoff — photography, art direction
♠ Maria Paula Marulanda — design
♠ Marek Polewski — design
Review
by Aimee Cliff ⌊JUNE 25 2020⌋ Score: 8.6 BEST NEW MUSIC
⇑ The new edition includes a remix of the WIMPIII track “Gasoline” featuring Taylor Swift, and a remix of “3AM” featuring Thundercat.
⇑ It’s well known that the only three people who take long walks through the streets of Los Angeles are Haim. The image of the trio striding or line~dancing their way around the city is indelibly linked to their music: cool, confident, full of momentum. The videos to accompany their third album, Women in Music Part III, nod to the strolls of the past and add in a few new twists. In “Now I’m in It,” directed again by Paul Thomas Anderson, bassist Este and guitarist Alana carry Danielle (lead vocals, guitar, production) on a stretcher; when Danielle is revived and joins her sisters for their signature walk, she casts a knowing glance straight to camera.
⇓ In another video, they’re trailed by a gloomy saxophonist; in another, they stand rooted to the spot. These videos show the evolution of Haim, whose songwriting on WIMPIII is likewise more nuanced, more self~aware, and frequently darker than ever before.
⇑ The biting satire of the album’s title is something of a red herring for its explicitly personal content. In interviews, each sister has described a personal trauma that she brought to the studio. Alana has spoken of the grief she suffered when a best friend passed away at age 20, and Este has talked about the low points of living with Type 1 diabetes. Most felt is Danielle’s deep depression; she traces its origin to when her partner (and co~producer) Ariel Rechtshaid was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2015.
⇑ Historically, Haim’s lyrics have been conversational and straightforward: emotionally incisive, sure, but usually vague enough that you could easily place yourself inside them. On WIMPIII, though, Danielle writes in vivid scenes, pulling you inside her personal depression fog. She blinks awake and finds herself at the wheel of her car; she watches TV and stares at the ceiling; she goes to the boulevard and can’t stop crying. On the stomping country~rock of “I’ve Been Down,” she sings about taping up the windows of her house, adding sardonically, “But I ain’t dead yet.” Elsewhere, the sisters cut and paste the most offensive interview questions they’ve faced from music journalists (“Do you make the same faces in bed?”) into a candid folk song that channels the spirit of Joni Mitchell.
⇑ Danielle was also inspired by André 3000’s solo album The Love Below, an exploratory record that sewed together disparate genres with uninhibited slapstick humor. While WIMPIII is more theatrical than Haim have been before — there’s the gasp that opens the underwater rock song “Up From a Dream,” the “you up?” voicemail skits on “3 AM” — the most obvious similarity is in the band’s newfound musical fluidity. These songs shift gears, often eschewing Haim’s usual summery rock to find the right genre for the mood, sometimes containing different shades within the same track. “All That Ever Mattered” peppers Danielle’s vocals with distorted screams and a mumbled interjection of “fuck no,” before pirouetting away into a glam~rock guitar solo. “3 AM” and “Another Try” flirt with falsetto~driven funk and R&B, and “I Know Alone,” a song about depression~scrolling and sleeping through the day, contains dusty echoes of UK garage.
⇑ Not every song feels like a pioneering event. “Don’t Wanna” could have lived on any of Haim’s three albums: a tight pop~rock song built around an irrepressible guitar lick and an oblique story of a relationship in trouble. But their most exciting trips go off the beaten path, like the crystalline sad banger “Now I’m in It” — a song that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Taylor Swift’s Lover. This may be the first Haim album that steps out of its retro groove long enough to draw parallels with other contemporary pop music, specifically Rechtshaid and Danielle’s recent work with Vampire Weekend. Having long since proven their chops when it comes to writing a breezy 1970s~style rock song, they now sound comfortable enough within their niche to push beyond it.
⇑ WIMPIII is bookended by two songs about L.A., both featuring a saxophone and wistful “doot~do~do” backing vocals. On the first, “Los Angeles,” Danielle describes falling out of love with her hometown. But in the final song, “Summer Girl” — while its melody hits a similarly melancholic vein — she interpolates Lou Reed as she sings about the relief of coming home to L.A. from tour to be with her partner. She’s anguished when she sings that she’s “thinking ’bout leaving” the city, but hushed and reverent on a later line when she reflects on how much she misses it: “L.A. on my mind, I can’t breathe.” Placed beside each other, the two songs take on new dimensions. It’s Haim as we haven’t quite heard them before: not just eminently proficient musicians, entertainers, and “women in music,” but full of flaws and contradictions, becoming something much greater.
⇑ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/haim-women-in-music-pt-iii/
Ben Beaumont~Thomas, Thu 10 Dec 2020 06.00 GMT:
⇑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/10/the-best-albums-of-2020-no-7-haim-women-in-music-pt-iii
By Andrew Trendell ⌊19th February 2021⌋
⇑ https://www.nme.com/news/music/haim-taylor-swift-thundercat-gasoline-3am-women-in-music-pt-iii-listen-2883824
WEB: http://haimtheband.com/
WEB: https://www.taylorswift.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/haimtheband/
TW: https://twitter.com/haimtheband/
INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/haimtheband/