The three sisters were first enlisted by their mum and dad to play classic rock and Motown covers in the family band at children’s hospitals and deli stores at their home in the San Fernando Valley. Haim are no strangers to pop’s transformative powers, nor to the heavy-handed approach of major record labels. Puzzled bloggers noted that it sounded like Shania Twain.
By the time Haim released their big summer single, ‘The Wire’, it had mutated into a hammy slice of country-pop, complete with string section and Auto-Tuned coda. Their label, Polydor, no doubt sensing they might have hit the jackpot too, wheeled in big-shot producers Ariel Rechtshaid (Major Lazer, Vampire Weekend, Usher) and James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Florence + The Machine, Simian Mobile Disco), who added more bells and whistles than you’ll find in the Hamleys window display at Christmas. They won people over with their debut EP ‘Forever’ and some rapturously received performances at 2012’s SXSW. Part of the reason the wait has seemed so long is that Este, Danielle and Alana hit the jackpot relatively early. ‘Days Are Gone’ comprises some of their best live tracks (‘Forever’, ‘The Wire’, ‘Let Me Go’) and some songs that haven’t been played live (‘If I Could Change Your Mind’, ‘Days Are Gone’, ‘My Song 5’) and lacquers them all with a thick coat of studio gloss. It will come as a shock to fans of their live show, won over by their raw mix of blues guitar, close vocal harmony and big sister Este’s ‘bass face’. After what feels like forever, the debut Haim album is finally here.
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