Women in Music Pt. III: Album Review

I’ve been patiently waiting for Haim’s third album, Women in Music Pt. III to drop. Some of the bright spots of this year have been the release of new music so I’ve been looking forward to this brand new album by one of my favorite bands. The album was slated for release on April 24th, but due to the current world wide crisis was pushed back for a late summer release. Then it was bumped up to a June 26th release date. June 26th was Friday, which means the album is finally out!

Haim has been releasing new music for almost a year now with “Summer Girl” dropping at the end of last July. Several other singles have also dropped in the lead up to the album release. Before live music ceased in March, Haim was in the midst of a Deli tour that honored their Jewish roots. The band was playing small shows at famous delis in a few locations around the country in honor of their first show ever being at Canter’s Deli in L.A. in 2000. The band played two of those scheduled dates before the country began to shut down. In honor of the album’s release though, the band did a live stream on Friday from Canter’s.

The biggest difference between Women in Music Pt. III and Haim’s first two albums is that this one hits deeper. The song topics get personal and more sad than their earlier works. Many songs on the album sound like the total opposite of that though. I’ve heard them described as “sad bangers”. A few tracks also add hints of jazz and Caribbean/tropical vibes to Haim’s west coast style pop/soft rock. Overall the album offers versatility in sound and lyrics compared to Days Are Gone and Something to Tell You. It’s got the Haim we’ve always loved (my favorite song “Don’t Wanna”) plus the Haim that is growing and pushing their style more (“Los Angeles”).

When live music is finally a thing again, expect plenty of tour dates and festival dates from these three sisters. I would even expect them to join the lineup for Taylor Swift’s festival next summer. Until then, bask in the greatness of this new music we were given in the strangest of times. It’s a great soundtrack for the summer and one you should take in before you can see them perform again. For me, new music is one of the only things that has felt the way it’s supposed to feel and I owe Haim and whoever else is releasing new music this year for this piece of comfort in a very uncomfortable year.

Something To Tell You: Album Review

I have some amazing news! Haim released their new album today! Can I get a hell yeah?! (Hell YEAH!) Something To Tell You, Haim’s latest release, is their second full length album and first in 3 years since 2014’s Days Are Gone. In the months leading up to the release, the sister trio debuted a few singles from the album with “Want You Back”, “Right Now”, and “Little of Your Love”.

Based on my first listen to the album, it seems like a quality follow-up to Days. The thing I love about Something To Tell You is that it incorporates sound from different genres and decades of music. To me, Haim’s vocals have given their music an 80’s type of sound, but on this new record I feel like their vocals create a 90’s to modern day feel along with that go-to 80’s vibe. The music itself takes pieces from different genres to give the band a unique sound on each track too. There were moments where I thought to myself, “this song sounds like an 80’s song (“Nothing’s Wrong”) to this song has a rockabilly thing going on (“Little of Your Love”), or this one has a sort of R&B/deep house/electronic feel (“Walking Away”).” There are many instances of this on the album and if you sit down and really listen to the songs, you’ll hear them. Their songs are just as catchy as the ones on Days too. It’s only a matter of time and repetition before I’m singing along to this album.

I will say a noticeable difference between Something To Tell You and Days Are Gone is that I think there are more songs that are more mellow and chill on the new album, which I feel like is a natural progression. The debut album was full of some great jams. The new one is too but also calms it down a bit. It seems fitting as well since the band has said this album’s lyrical content is full of highs and lows.

For all the Haim fans out there, you’re definitely gonna want to hit up a record store this weekend to pick-up the new album (or online store, or iTunes, or whatever you use). I’ll probably do the same. Haim has already started to post a few tour dates in support of this new record, but I’ll be damned if they don’t add more in the coming days, weeks, or months. Until then, listen to Something To Tell You on repeat! The Haim sisters created some incredible combinations of sound and it’s worthy of your ears.