Haim made their breakthrough more than a decade ago with the single “The Wire”. The US band’s song revolves around a painful but self-determined breakup.
Now, the three sisters Alana, Danielle and Este have recorded an entire album on the subject – “I Quit” (out Friday, June 20) – a record that explores themes of separation and new beginnings.
“We realized every single song has a theme of quitting something that isn’t working for us anymore,” said Alana Haim about the release of the new album, which still manages to stay positive in tone.
“Now it feels like an incredibly beautiful title, because quitting means a new beginning. Sometimes you need to quit to make room for great things to happen.”
Fittingly, the Californian trio incorporated the refrain from George Michael’s “Freedom ’90” into the first song, “Gone”, which works surprisingly well, albeit with a slight delay.
The fact that the song also includes a guitar solo in the style of 1970s hard rock is just one example of how creative Haim have become on their fourth studio album.
With their successful 2020 album “Women In Music Pt. III”, they felt they had opened the door “to sounding exactly how we’ve always wanted to sound,” says Alana Haim. “But with ‘I Quit’ the door was fully open.”
Haim set no limits for themselves and did not follow a clear musical line. What connects the songs is their message of letting go, leaving and having the courage to start anew.
A significant inspiration for this was the breakup of lead singer Danielle Haim and Ariel Rechtshaid, who produced the previous three albums but is no longer involved.
“We were on a huge nostalgic streak while making this album,” says Danielle, “partly because we were all single at the same time for the first time since high school.”
In addition to softer pop songs like “All Over Me”, the album features elements from a wide range of genres, such as alt rock (“Now It’s Time”), 1990s R&B (“Relationships”), dance pop (“Spinning”) and country (“The Farm”).
It also includes – not for the first time – the influence of Fleetwood Mac (“Take Me Back”), whose singer Stevie Nicks has previously praised Haim.
Because the 15 new tracks are so sonically diverse, it takes a few listens for “I Quit” to resonate. However, this won’t happen with every song.
Some tracks, such as the sluggish “Everybody’s Trying To Figure Me Out” or the plaintive “Blood On The Street”, will feel a little lacklustre to some listeners. However, at Haim’s energetic concerts, some of these songs are likely to have a completely different impact.
On their fourth album, the Haim sisters sing about quitting to make room for new beginnings. In doing so, the trio from Los Angeles enter into different musical terrain with almost every song. Universal/dpa