HAIM - Alana and her sisters

Este, Danielle and Alana Haim are three musician sisters from California who joined forces in the eponymous indie-pop trio, which managed to establish itself on the music scene over the course of the 2010s. With a nostalgic eye on classic American soft-rock and a sharp ear for new styles and trends, the three have won over a huge fanbase and can now be counted among the most interesting names in contemporary pop-rock.

Three Sisters

Este (b. 1986, bass and vocals), Danielle (b. 1989, drums, guitar and vocals) and Alana Haim (b. 1991, keyboards, guitar and vocals) were born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, near Los Angeles. From a Jewish family, all three began playing music from a very young age alongside their parents, Moti and Donna, who were also musicians. The family performed for fun and with no serious ambitions at parties, schools and local events, playing mostly covers of classic 60s and 70s rock songs. This was indeed the genre the three were exposed to as children, and it's probably from somewhere in there that the influence later so evident in their music stems, especially from the better-known Fleetwood Mac, the Buckingham-Nicks era in particular.

Paying their dues took a long and tiring road: in 2004 Este and Danielle were invited to join an all-female pop-rock group called Valli Girls, with whom they even performed at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Later, the first to truly build a career was Danielle, the guitarist (all three are actually multi-instrumentalists, though they tend to stick to fixed roles), when she was brought in as a session player, first for singer Jenny Lewis and then, stepping up a level, for Julian Casablancas (Strokes) on his solo tours. She even got to perform with Cee-Lo Green and his all-female band, the Scarlet Fever, in 2010. But the project with her sisters interested her far more.

In 2007, in fact, Haim officially formed as a trio under that name, starting to play live and work on a sound that merged the tradition of the so-called "Americana" genre with more modern styles, a certain indie sensibility and a soulful approach, especially in the vocals. But, as mentioned, the early days were tough. According to legend, for their first official gig they were paid only with a bowl of matzah ball soup, a traditional kosher dish. As Danielle tells it, the three were often booked back then as the closing act for shows at fifty-capacity venues, and as a result they frequently ended up playing to an empty room. But things began to change with the turn of the decade, alongside Danielle's growing profile.

Days Gone By

When Haim released their debut album, Days Are Gone, in 2013, the indie-pop world was in ferment. Bands of the genre were starting to claim ever more space, winning over a millennial audience probably tired of indie-rock's earnest tones and post-punk leanings. Indie-pop acts showed that you could be "hipster" while still having fun. Bands like Passion Pit, Grouplove, NONONO, The 1975 (who also debuted in 2013), Imagine Dragons, Twenty One Pilots and Fun. opened up a new musical landscape, marrying the indie ethos to chart-ready sounds with ease and a thirst for change. It was a shift not necessarily well regarded at the time, often dismissed as a mere attempt to appear more commercial, aided and abetted by the usual magazines. And the three California sisters certainly weren't short on hype by the time they reached their debut album, having already notched up, in order: the January cover of New Musical Express alongside Palma Violets, a win at the BBC Sound of 2013 poll ahead of some heavyweight names, and a handful of singles that caused a stir all over the internet.

Haim's debut album is a blend of indie and classic rock, in which the influence of Fleetwood Mac on the songwriting is plain to hear, leaning perhaps more towards Buckingham and McVie than Nicks. The tempos are fast and intertwined, with particular attention paid to the finely layered rhythmic component and to the vocal harmonies between the three sisters, while the other elements, like guitars and keyboards, remain relegated to the background. Often, as in one of their early hits "Forever" (already present on the trio's first EP, from 2012), the songs follow a building structure, adding to the verse-chorus alternation an intensity constructed step by step through the addition of different musical elements, culminating in a striking emotional climax.

Haim have declared themselves big fans of groups such as Destiny's Child and TLC, as well as, moving to the present day, rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Azealia Banks: an enthusiasm for Black music, both past and present, that the sisters had not hesitated to display from their very first singles, and which has since been taken to its furthest extreme, so much so that in several tracks on the album these Black music influences become dominant (the lively funk touches on the title track, but also "Song 5", which even Justin Timberlake might envy).

But it's certainly not in simply borrowing stylistic devices from African-American music that the trio's appeal lies; it's in reworking those building blocks, steering their forms toward the sound of the records their mom and dad loved, the classics they'd been listening to since they were little girls, that things get really interesting. And the three know exactly how to play that game: constantly in dialogue with past and present, moving freely between them, the Angelenos pinpoint with unerring precision the line along which to project their sound — retro-futuristic, yes, but with a taste and freshness that has few equals.

It's hard not to think of Christine McVie and the golden era of Fleetwood Mac's masterpieces when you dwell on Danielle's voice in "Honey & I". But what at first seems like a comfortable surrender into the arms of these sacred monsters, heading toward a mythical-sounding West Coast, turns into a blurred mirage when it runs into the driving funk of "If I Could Change Your Mind", torching any accusation of mere emulation. A danger defused anyway with the composure of true pros, so much so that even slippier tracks, like the effervescent "The Wire" with its propulsive power-pop, boast killer choruses and songwriting that has no trouble leaving its mark.

Watch out, though, not to get ensnared by that sweet trap that goes by the name of "Running If You Call My Name" (among Danielle's most "characteristic" performances). And anyone turning up their nose had better brace themselves, or they might fall prey to the irresistible refrain of "Don't Save Me". The record spares no one: it's infectious, spreading with the force of a virus, whose solidity and consistency are its best weapons.

Haim mostly sing about love, personal relationships, expectations, regrets and judgments. In "The Wire", for example, they sing: “Sai che non sono brava a comunicare/ È la cosa più difficile per me da fare/ E si dice che è la parte più importante attraverso cui passano le relazioni/ E rinuncio a tutto solo per poter dire/ Lo so, lo so, lo so che starai bene in ogni caso”. Their lyrics aren't particularly ambitious, but they sound spontaneous, genuine and youthful, fully in the spirit of indie-pop, wedded to sounds steeped in a certain refinement, including in the production. A formula that already made the trio's debut album a success, earning them a number-one spot on the UK charts.

The image of the three sisters struck a positive chord with an audience — the early-2010s millennial crowd — increasingly open and willing to embrace softer, more pop-leaning indie sounds, but it also fueled a sense of female artistic emancipation, showing in videos and live sets the three young women handling every instrument themselves, establishing themselves, despite their young age, as fully rounded musicians.

Something To Tell You

On the second album, Something To Tell You (2017), the Fleetwood Mac-derived inspiration becomes even more pronounced, though not exclusive. For instance, "Little Of Your Love" sounds a lot like an early Taylor Swift song, from her more country period, while "Ready For You" picks up certain pop/funk inflections, and "Found It In Silence" is arranged like a 2012 Carly Rae Jepsen track.

With Ariel Rechtshaid once again at the helm, occasionally joined by Rostam Batmanglij and Twin Shadow, Haim's sound gains further strength and momentum, shedding the more urban angularity of some tracks from the debut in favor of a warmer, more compact pop-rock with West Coast undertones, mindful of their putative heroes Fleetwood Mac. Indeed, if the decision to record part of the album at Valentine Studios in Los Angeles weren't already overwhelming proof, "You Never Knew", strategically placed halfway through the record, clearly establishes the deep connection with the mellow, psychedelic harmonies of 1970s California — that soft, delicate universe that produced some of the era's finest output. Amid jangly guitars, a serene, steady drum groove and songwriting that could have made it the missing ballad from Days Are Gone (perhaps thanks in part to the collaboration with Dev Hynes), the song still delivers plenty of chills.

Too bad that, for the rest, the album can't keep pace with a track that, as a single, would have enjoyed a very different fortune, ultimately lacking the melodic variety the three sisters had otherwise proven so skilled at. Not that "Want You Back", the actual lead single, is all that poor — in fact its crowd-pleasing funk-rock groove and breathless vocal phrasing could have made for an unforgettable launch on their own, were it not for the fact that the songwriting settles into rather too-conventional patterns and the climax deflates into a repetitive chorus. The shy, introverted R&B of "Walking Away", built on a skeletal, slow-motion beat pattern and curious atmospheric manipulations, fails to make the leap in quality, getting tangled up in an unlikely blend of the girls' (admittedly effective) vocal overdubs and the stubborn repetition of the title, used as a kind of rhythmic mantra.

Any exceptions to the album's stumbling trend? Aside from the aforementioned "You Never Knew", only "Found It In Silence" manages to make the most of its excellent musical structure (sweeping string drones and excellent bass lines), dropping in a genuinely tasteful bridge. If it's true that the genesis of Something To Tell You proved complicated, to the point that many recording sessions led to the scrapping of much of the material produced up to that point, what ended up on the record mostly speaks of a band still struggling — one that, despite excellent instrumental skills and fine performing abilities, feels the weight of a recent past it would be best to flee as soon as possible.

The most memorable image of this period for Haim is nonetheless tied to the video for the lead single, "Want You Back": a crystal-clear slice of indie-pop, brimming with sentiment and sonic and rhythmic texture, which in the clip directed by Jack Schreier accompanies the three sisters through a choreography as they dance in a single take shot at dawn in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles. Even today it's perhaps the most indelible Haim video in the collective memory, and it has become (along with the song) a defining moment of indie subculture and the 2010s indie-pop genre.

Speaking of videos and appearances on both small and big screen, this period also marks the beginning of the fruitful collaboration between the trio and acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson. For them, he makes the documentary about the making of the album titled "Valentine", as well as the clips for "Little Of Your Love" and, above all, "Right Now", a beautiful and intimate live performance of one of the album's best tracks, a heartfelt, atmospheric ballad that the filmmaker's eye captures with special sensitivity. A collaboration that certainly helps the album's success, even if — as mentioned — musically as a whole it can't be called more accomplished than the first, with songs that don't stand out compositionally nor sound especially bold production-wise, save for a few exceptions (the title track, "Want You Back" and "Right Now").

Either way, the response is considerable: in the middle of the decade Haim tour with their friend Taylor Swift, contribute to the soundtracks of popular blockbusters like "Hunger Games 3" and "Insurgent", and record a cover of Fleetwood Mac's classic "Rhiannon" together with its author Stevie Nicks: perfectly in line with their style and their trajectory.

But what are Haim like live? Generally they perform by blending electronic aids and effects with rock instruments, with the help of a few session musicians — nothing unusual for a 2010s indie band. Danielle typically serves as frontwoman, lead vocalist on most songs and guitarist, sometimes even on lead guitar; Este plays bass and often provides backing vocals, while Alana handles keyboards and additional percussion plus another guitar with rhythmic functions. As a rule, the three also harmonize live, and particularly famous moments of their shows are the trio's percussion performances, which land to great effect. Their concerts reveal an undeniable musical grounding, even within a band that, more than technique and strict musicianship, favors the emotional pull of the choruses, with frequent calls for audience participation and an eye for overall showmanship.

Women in Music

The gestation of this delicate third act proves especially hard and difficult. First came the testicular cancer diagnosis for Ariel Rechtshaid, co-producer and Danielle Haim's partner, then the grip of depression that struck Alana after the death of her best friend. On top of that came the difficulties caused by Este's diabetes, and finally the predictable post-tour creative dry spell. A series of problems that, taken together, kept Haim out of the spotlight for a while. A long period during which the three sisters, Danielle, Alana and Este, focused on writing new songs with the clear intent of putting together a rich, varied collection.

For Women In Music Pt. III (2020), the production input of the well-regarded Rostam Batmanglij (formerly of Vampire Weekend) proves crucial, helping the three achieve a more eclectic, atmospheric and ethereal sound. In 2019, Danielle Haim had in fact collaborated with the storied American indie band and its producer on the album "Father Of The Bride", and a year later the favor is returned. His touch is felt from the very first notes of the opening track, "Los Angeles". The songwriting on Women In Music Pt. III feels far more mature, multifaceted and even more instrumental: it looks to a more classic, less indie-leaning rock, while at the same time resisting the temptation to simply emulate the Fleetwood Mac template, opening up instead to a more varied character. There's no shortage of nods to other genres: the peculiar R&B of "3 AM"; the pure pop of "Another Try"; the Dylan-esque "I've Been Down"; the intriguing experiment of "All That Ever Mattered"; and finally the Simon & Garfunkel-style folk of "Hallelujah", included as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of the record.

The three Californian sisters strike a perfect balance between the sunny, carefree verve of their early work and an unsettling melancholy that lurks just beneath the surface, creating a three-dimensional sonic effect that bridges the best of the Californian pop tradition with the tribulations of modern indie.

There are a full sixteen tracks, all strongly inspired both lyrically and musically, rich with deliberate nods to great figures of rock music, starting with Lou Reed, whose "Walk On The Wild Side" underpins "Summer Girl", a song written for Ariel Rechtshaid while he was fighting cancer, and continuing with Joni Mitchell, an artist who, more than most, fell victim to the misogyny that has long sidelined women in the music industry ("Man From The Magazine"). The record is full of creative references, from T. Rex and Led Zeppelin, who peek through on the gorgeous "Up From A Dream", to Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" era in "Don't Wanna" and "Gasoline", while the guitar sound on "FUBT" comes close to outright lifting "Purple Rain". In this way, Haim forgo any ideological strategy, aiming instead for the essence of a pop formula that proves winning and intelligently crafted.

Beyond the pop-psych textures set up by Batmanglij, it's the more refined rhythmic structure that really holds things together, with ska beats ("Los Angeles") alternating with textbook pop-rock tempos ("All That Ever Mattered"), brilliant R&B touches ("3 AM") and unexpected detours into an alien strain of country-pop ("I've Been Down").

Ultimately, it's hard not to fall for the charm of a polished, if slightly uneven, pop record like Women In Music, Pt III: a showcase in which everyone will find at least a couple of songs to love unconditionally. It's hard to resist the tex-mex flavours - alongside reggae and funk - of "Another Try", the modern techno-tinged psychedelic folk of "I Know Alone", or the motorik glitch of "Now I'm In It", especially when set against the usual templates of contemporary pop. Taken as a whole, it's a complete body of work that pushes in several directions at once and reveals plural, admirable musical abilities. By far one of the best pop albums of 2020 and of the new decade: it's no coincidence that it was also nominated for Album Of The Year at the Grammy Awards.

In 2021 comes another major step forward, when Alana, the youngest of the three sisters, is cast as co-lead in Paul Thomas Anderson's film "Licorice Pizza", starring alongside Cooper Hoffman. The film is set in 1970s Los Angeles, and it's striking how the musical world of the era (largely reconstructed through the soundtrack) echoes the trio's own style; after all, it's precisely the scene that has always inspired them, the records they grew up with, making it something of a full-circle moment. But that's not all: Este and Danielle also make a cameo in the film, naturally playing Alana's sisters; their parents can be spotted too, and the whole family appears (and is duly credited in the end titles) as Kane, not Haim.

Thanks in part to the film's pull, a new audience discovers the existence of the three sisters. Alana's performance, acclaimed alongside that of young Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in 2014), turns out to be a formidable promotional vehicle for the trio.

As the 2020s roll on, Haim's success continues. In 2022 they open for Red Hot Chili Peppers, and in 2023 for Taylor Swift on her hugely celebrated Eras Tour; they also collaborate with the West Reading diva on the 2020 track "No Body, No Crime". On a new version of "3 AM" they bring in Thundercat for a feature that lends the track a fresh and valuable soul-jazz edge, arguably making it the best collaboration of their career; and in 2023 their original song "Home" lands on the soundtrack to Greta Gerwig's hugely talked-about "Barbie", one of the films of the year. Recognition of their work and the quality of their music has by now spread across various corners of the music world; for instance, in 2022 an Instagram post by rapper Drake with the three sisters caused quite a stir, in which the Canadian musician declared: "I just met the Beatles", drawing a rather extravagant parallel between the trio's influence on the music of their generation and that once exerted by the legendary English quartet. But setting aside such decidedly oversized comparisons, it's undeniable that, by the mid-2020s, Haim have carved out a leading role in the indie-pop scene of the new millennium.

Further cementing their impact on the contemporary scene comes - after a 5-year absence - the new album I Quit (2025). The title might seem like a negative statement of intent, an unconditional surrender, a throwing-up of the hands. And perhaps it is, but from this surrender - as from the best heartbreaks - springs an inspired musical poetry that flows freely and spontaneously through this heartfelt 15-song tracklist which, while looking back to sounds of years gone by, still comes across as fresh, catchy and compelling. The album's dominant character is that of a solid 70s-style folk-rock, in which Haim's singer-songwriter sensibility is paired with assertive rhythmic arrangements designed to make the songs energetic yet elegant. Behind the boards is Rostam Batmanglij - already a collaborator of the trio on their previous record, "Women In Music Pt. III" - who once again confirms he took the best part of Vampire Weekend's sound with him. Too bad for the NYC band, but good news for the LA sisters.

Across the various tracks, the three sisters - often leaning on the voice of Danielle, the group's de facto leader, first and foremost - reflect on the many facets of modern love stories. They've done so, in a sense, ever since their debut album came out in 2013; but here they rediscover a melancholy and a sense of powerlessness that carry less sarcasm and instead encourage mutual understanding between the sexes, rediscovering a kind of old-fashioned romanticism - even with the occasional "fuck" thrown in here and there - that truly feels sung for everyone.

Musically, the record is powerful and colourful. The intriguing intro to "Gone", a 70s-style crescendo, builds an intense soft-rock atmosphere and ties back to what has always been singled out as the trio's chief influence: Fleetwood Mac. And given the bitter edge of the lyrics, it's a track that could easily slot into an album like "Rumours". "Relationships" heads in a different direction instead, already one of the most popular tracks of 2025, with a loping soul groove that recalls some of the classic work of Beyoncé - or Solange, even better.

The encouraging, nostalgic "Take Me Back" is a country track with a "rapped" vocal - spoken, really - delivered with a strongly "southern" accent, but it also recalls some of the things Jack Antonoff loves doing with his band Bleachers, especially in its very "party" arrangement. And between a sitar ("Love You Right"), a Dylan-esque harmonica and a banjo ("The Farm"), there's also room for the distorted, wall-of-sound rock of "Lucky Stars", right up to the fast, semi-electronic jungle-rhythm experiment of "Million Years" - among whose credited writers, mind you, is Justin Vernon. "Everybody's Trying To Figure Me Out" is already another modern classic, a pop-rock track where you can really hear the three sisters harmonising, and whose fired-up, urgent drumming truly sounds like it was entrusted to a Mick Fleetwood. "Spinning", on the other hand, is the only track that seems to fully take us back into 2010s indie-pop territory, with more room for keyboards and more focus on rhythm, less on atmosphere and poetry. Finally, worth noting is the intriguing experiment of "Now It's Time", built entirely around a very clear sample of U2's "Numb".

The rediscovery of sounds from another era, set within a thoroughly modern framework, signals a desire to make ambitious music for everyone, music that speaks to the young and the not-so-young, to women as much as to men, and to all of us - especially to anyone who's had their heart broken yet again. The themes are the same as fifty years ago, and the music - more or less - too; but the way Haim deliver it, the formula works beautifully.

Contributions by Vassilios Karagiannis ("Days Are Gone", "Something To Tell You"), Gianfranco Marmoro ("Women In Music, Pt III")

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