Haim - Women in Music Pt. III

Rating

4.0/5

Flyctory.com Pros

Great musical quality
A journey through decades of styles - sometimes within one song

Flyctory.com Cons

Very complex album, needs active listening
By that, it feels "heavy" here and there

Haim is a band which became popular in the early 2010 years. Already with their first publications, the three Californian sisters stormed the international music charts. After two successful album, they are back with Women in Music Pt. III, which has been released on 26th June 2020.

Haim – About The Artists

Haim is a trio of siblings, thereby Haim is the family name of the sisters. The oldest band member is Este Arielle Haim (born 14th March 1986), who is joined by Danielle Sari Haim (16th February 1989) and Alana Mychal Haim (15th December 1991). Their father has been a professional soccer player, but but parents also had musical background. Growing up in Greater Los Angeles, they played in a family band together, but Danielle and Este were also playing in a band called the Valli Girls. In 2007, the sisters decided to found Haim. Their success has been limited, though, so that none of the sister pursued a professional music career. Danielle hat some support and guest appearances after high school, but the sisters decided to concentrate their collaboration again. In 2012, they released their first EP Forever. The reception of the title track was quite good, the song made it to #24 int he US Rock charts and was Top 100 in Japan and the UK. On 27th September 2013, the band released their debut album Days Are Gone, which topped the UK charts, but also was Top 10 in the USA, Australia, Belgium, Canada and Ireland. The key single has been The Wire. Four years later, the band released Something To Tell You, which was slightly less successful. Women in Music Pt. III is the third Haim album.

Haim – Women in Music Pt. III – Track by Track

Women in Music Pt. III contains 16 songs and lasts 51 minutes.

1. Los Angeles

Starting with some brass, the very rhythmic Los Angeles is already a quite ambitious one. The song has a touch of reggae, but does not just feel happy – there is a lot of melancholy in it as well. On top of that,, there is the complex arrangement of the three voices. Wow. The songs honestly overwhelms me.

2. The Steps

Every time I think that I’ve been takin’ the steps
You end up mad at me for makin’ a mess
I can’t understand
Why you don’t understand me, baby
And every day I wake up and I make money for myself
And though we share a bed, you know that I don’t need your help
Do you understand?
You don’t understand me, baby

I cannot say that the second track is an easy-to-digest one – but I definitely get into it much easier. I feel a touch of Sheryl Crow in it – however, the sound feels to be in a very distorted way.

3. I Know Alone

This album is definitely one for the critics. But more and more, it feels to have some nice songs for me as well. I Know Alone feels more jolly than the two tracks before, there very warped sound still gives a lot of atmosphere. There are even strings in it.

4. Up From A Dream

Something you see wakes you up from the dream
Wanna go back to sleep but now you’re up from the dream
Walk into the kitchen, pull the dishes from the sink
And you have changed in the blink of an eye

The sound of Haim is deep, dark, in their third album. It feels like modern sounds – recorded in the 1970’s. Everything is multi-layered, multi-faceted. It is exhausting – but it is not bad at all.

5. Gasoline

Thanks! After the heavy start with a lot of melancholy, distorted sounds and a wide range of arrangements, I love to have a straight, classic, melodic track. This is Gasoline. It is still having its “Haim elements”, but it comparably feels like an easy listen.

6. 3am

3am – makes me think of my dear Olivia Lane. But Haim do not surprise me with the friendly country artists voice at the beginning of the track – but with hip hop. Haim touches a lot of genre – this track feels very funky as well. I definitely enjoy that late night experiment

7. Don’t Wanna

Haim stated about this track, which has been released as a single in May, that they created it during some night jamming sessions, using a LinnDrum machine, which was for example used frequently by Prince. Definitely a special song of the album… But wait… All songs so far have been quite special.

8. Another Try

The song starts with a bit of reggae style, so that I first felt like “Okay, we are done now with the elements of the album, let’s repeat them”. Finally, this track takes so many roles and characters during its 3:25 minute playtime. Sometimes, it even reminds me of the 1980’s and makes me smile even more.

9. Leaning On You

The next track feels to me like Fleetwood Mac are recording a 1990’s country song 1970’s style. Again, Haim is mixing so many elements. This makes the album versatile, surprising, but also hard to listen. You need to listen to it actively, it is not the soundtrack of your next party. Otherwise, you would miss too much.

10. I’ve Been Down

This song is very melodic and even feels a bit of fragile (especially in the beginning), but also has some quite angry elements. I did not mention the lyrics in this review too much. They are often very intimate, personal, direct. Definitely good songwriting.

You say there’s no stupid questions
Only stupid people
Well I’ve been feeling pretty foolish
Trying to get myself through this
And I’ve been watching too much TV
Looking up at the ceiling
It’s been making me feel creepy
I’m just trying to shake this feeling

11. Man From The Magazine

With 2:06 minutes, this song is the shortest one of the whole album. I have to admit that it just does not touch me at all. Sorry.

12. All That Ever Mattered

We are in the “shortie section” of the album – All That Ever Mattered is also just 2:30 minutes long. The song, which plays with electric sounds, but is overall focusing significantly on the voice, even comes with some rock sound. Oh, there is so much in it again…

13. FUBT

There is it – the Explicit label on Amazon Music – the abbreviation simply stands for Fuckef Up But True – and that is also what the chorus tells you:

It’s fucked up, but it’s true
That I love you like I do
I’m just gon’ keep on lovin’ you
It’s tough to get through
Either way, I’m gonna lose
So I’m just gon’ keep on lovin’ you

The song feels like a ballad, in which the guitar player insists to play his tunes like in an old The Police song. Not the worst ingredients…

14. Now I’m In It

The three last songs are marked as bonus track. However, Now I’m In It was the second song released before the album. It feels a lot like Taylor Swift to me. I am not a die-hard Swiftie, but I like her. Like this song.

15. Hallelujah

I met two angels, but they were in disguise
Took one look to realize
Tell ’em anything and they will sympathize
These arms hold me tight
Old fears, helped to ease them in my mind
New tears say that they will dry in time
Why me? How’d I get this hallelujah?
Hallelujah

This song is clear, no distortion, could even go as a country song. A hymn for their Haim’s sisterhood and friendship. Family writes good songs. And the song is very intimate as well – in Alana’s part, for example, she reminds of her best friend, who dies at the age of 20.

16. Summer Girl

Summer Girl is again a complex song. It feels so light, but it is also very melancholic. It has a touch of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side as well. Cool!

Haim – Women in Music Pt. III – Spotify

Here is the Spotify link to the album:

Haim – Women in Music Pt. III – My View

Wow, Haim shows a really wide spectrum of sounds. There is no point you could really criticize them – they do it in style, they offer great sounds, they are great musicians. As I wrote above, the critics will love it. I personally do not have sufficient time to invest into a single album, to honor and digest it the way you should do with albums like Women in Music Pt. III. If you do, the album might even be on your Album of the Year 2020 list. To me, it is definitely less – but it is a good one.