CD of The Week

In somewhat of a sneaky way, Haim has become one of the most influential artists to emerge in the last fifteen years over not only the sound, but also the perception, of indie music. When Days Are Gone came out in 2013, the trio were instantly a cool California contrast to the arty East Coast bands that took up much of the conversation at the time (Animal Collective, Beach House). Days Are Gone still stands up as a remarkably assured debut filled with anthemic sing-alongs and the effervescence that the Haim sisters possess can be spotted in everyone from Beabadoobee to Maggie Rogers. Since that first album, the band have shuffled the deck with every release and with their fourth LP, I quit, Este, Danielle, and Alana have made their wildest, most eclectic record to date.

If there is a connecting thread through the album, many of the lyrics seem to address the breakup between Danielle and former producer Ariel Rechtshaid. Ariel gets roasted plenty throughout (a personal favorite on “Blood on the Street” is “I get the sense that you think this is still on the table / but when I don’t pick up my phone / it’s not because I'm unable”) in ways that can be dissected in Reddit threads, but for the purposes of assessing the album, it is more interesting to examine what it means now that Rechtshaid is no longer playing a role in Haim’s sound. Rostam (formerly of Vampire Weekend) is I quit’s primary producer and the textures are rawer and the soundscapes are stranger than Haim’s previous work, which opens up the musical sandbox in exciting ways. Haim dabble in shoegaze (“Lucky Stars”), synth-funk (the very fun, Alana-sung “Spinning”), and country-pop (“The Farm”) among other styles to mostly successful results.

Even if the genre-shifting is overwhelming at times, at their core, most Haim songs are just well-constructed confections that have slight structural surprises, hooky arrangements, and great harmonies. That craft results in infectious joy on “All Over Me,” “Relationships,” and “Take Me Back.” All three songs evoke the warm feelings of a nostalgic 90s playlist packed with Gin Blossoms, The Cardigans, and Sheryl Crow while remaining distinctly Haim in presentation and attitude. At fifteen songs, the album runs a little long and not every song gets the toes tapping (clumsily interpolating George Michael’s “Freedom! 90” in “Gone” is not an ideal way to start the album), but the versatility and sonic risk-taking is admirable throughout.

Authentic, sexy, smart, and slyly hilarious, I quit is an expansion of Haim’s sound that subverts what one might expect from L.A.’s most fashionable sisters yet still delivers on the band’s considerable strengths. The album might follow a five-year gap since Women in Music Pt. III’s pandemic-affected release,but Haim haven’t lost their place as one of the most pleasurable bands in that ever-growing gray area in between indie rock and pure pop.

Haim will be kicking off their I quit tour on Thursday, September 4th at the Mann Center.

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