Days Are Gone By Haim

Haim are an all girl three piece indie pop band from Los Angeles and they have enjoyed a lot of success these past few years. They first burst on to the scene and caught many people’s attention when they released “Forever” as a single in mid 2012. The song was well received and many people were keen to listen to their debut album, but before that Haim played at many festivals across the summer of 2013 including Glastonbury. There was TV coverage of this Glastonbury set and more and more people started hearing about them. A year after “Forever” was released as a single, Haim have released their debut album “Days Are Gone”.

If you have never listened to Haim before then think of “Rumours” era Fleetwood Mac combined with 80’s bubblegum pop music and Michael Jackson style vocals sung by a women as well. Yes, this is a rather brilliant combination and it is sure to appeal to a lot of people. Haim could quite easily reach the dizzying heights of their indie pop peers Two Door Cinema Club if they manage to get their music out there to the masses.

The album kicks off with the track “falling” and this is a reverberated gem of a pop song. There is clear evidence of that Micheal Jackson style delivery combined with reverbed instruments, this then all cuts out and we are treated to a bombardment of the lyric “Falling” as it constantly pans from left ear to right ear. Lyric simplicity at its best. We are then given “Forever” which contains a mid tempo funky bass and drum section that then builds up to a powerful, energetic guitar chord riff. And oh yes, let’s not forget the terrific vocals that are similar to the previous track. “The Wire” sounds like a Queen track: the guitar riffs are very Brian May-esque and Freddie Mercury would surely be proud of the vocal melody and chord changes. Overall we’ve pretty much got a perfect opening triple whammy here.

The 80’s influences are pretty clear through out the rest of the rest of the album. “If I Could Change Your Mind” has the verse of a Fleetwood Mac song and the chorus of a Cyndi Lauper song. It’s a lot of fun to listen to. “Honey And I” could probably fit onto Simon Paul’s “Graceland” album and “Day’s are gone” is more of a chilled out Synthpop song. We are then given the black sheep of the album which is “My Song 5”. The track is a moody sounding blues song that contains some kick ass guitar riffs and weird low pitched bass effects. This is what makes “Days are gone” (and Haim in general) brilliant though: because they can take any influence and turn it into this fun indie pop song.

As the album progresses towards the end, the songs get a lot slower and more chilled out. “Go Slow” and “Running If You Call My Name” could quite easily soundtrack the slow dance at an American prom in a John Hughes film (check him out if you’ve never heard of him). They are gorgeous, airy pop songs that just want to make you sway from side to side. “Let Me Go” is a slow, angry stomper of a song that contains some good guitar work. It really stands out from the rest of the songs that are on the final quarter of the album.  

“Days Are Gone” is a really top notch, fun album. There are a lot of 80’s influences combined with a modern indie pop sound. Haim have produced a really fantastic debut album and hopefully they can deliver more of the same in the future.

OVERALL RATING: 8/10
BEST TRACKS: FOREVER, IF I COULD CHANGE YOUR MIND, GO SLOW.

WORST TRACK: DON’T SAVE ME.