HAIM

OK so

http://stereogum.com/1258291/haim-falling/mp3s/

Like it. (I also found them personally okay when watching a short documentary about them, so maybe they just get into some sort of annoying mode in some interviews.)

they are super charming imo, wkiw

DRUMS

Feeling like Bryan Ferry would admire the instrumental framework for Falling. Somehow the solo Bryan Ferry comparison is jumping out at me, when I'm sure there are much closer comparisons to be drawn. This is way too peppy for solo Bryan Ferry (post- like mid-70s). Maybe it's the use of real instruments to create a very polished, piece of pop with a bit of a dance beat.

Now we need to get Bryan Ferry interested in music.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4422250647_68a76a4a9d_o.jpg

this band is so damn good

"Better Off" at around 2:56 and a little onward is reminding me of the climax of Kate Bush "Big Sky." The inevitable Kate Bush comparison ("they are female artists, they sound like Kate Bush")--but no, this is specific.

On "Falling"- producer Ariel Rechtshaid hit the Bushism's more squarely in his work with Glasser.

Haim seems to pick producers that submerge their Fleetwood Mac-ish live sound, leaving middle sister/lead singer Danielle's rushed syllables as the main idiosyncratic element.

Is she the gregarious/domineering one in the interviews? I predict a solo career.

I don't know about that. I do think their studio recordings would sound better if their core band sound were less submerged, though part of me is happy they want to go for a broader pop appeal and not stick to I'm not sure there's anything wrong with slick studio production and rougher edged, more rocking performances--a combination that I think has probably worked for other act. Whether it will work in this case, I don't know. Actually, I like the way the production works on Falling in particular. Whatever the song is in live performance, I think it works here as something pushing toward dance pop(again, a la some sort of Bryan Ferry solo sound, with an underpinning in traditional musicianship). I haven't really kept track of their producers (or probably producers in general!) and am unfamiliar with Rechtshaid.

I've been playing Forever and Don't Save Me a lot, probably overplaying them because they aren't holding up for me quite as well as I expected. On the other hand, Better Off has grown on me.

love the video for 'falling'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIjVpRAXK18

x-post: I've been really sick of music videos in general, lately, and I do think this one is pretty good.

(Oh yeah, Falling is also the song that has some other vocals that remind me of recent Bush, but I don't think that has anything to do with production. Again, it's fairly subtle, I think, it doesn't sound remotely like a Kate Bush song or anything. I think it's kind of cool to hear late Kate Bush already possibly being a source for a younger artist's sound (since I don't really know where the resemblance is coming from.)

"Falling" is so good.

While I'm making comparisons, the main chorus on Send Me Down, sounds like it could be from a Solange song. (I think the song is just okay, though it has some nice moments I could eventually latch onto more.)

I prefer this remix of Send Me Down over the original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwkUDrVYlAY

I feel like HAIM has one trick but they do it really well

really enjoying the 9 songs they have out (incl. one cover and two remixes)

I feel like HAIM has one trick but they do it really well

What do you think that one trick is? I don't hear them that way and they seem like an odd band to single out for that sort of description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmOEKvcASB4

oh shit i thought it was hame not hime.

ok can't watch this right now but nardwuar caps for their nardwuar interview <3<3<3

lol, so it's actually pronounced as in "if you go to tel aviv, you should meet my cousin, haim"

This is awesome, but also makes me think 13:36 is just about the right amount of time to hang around with them, lest you get worn out by sistery shenanigans.

psychemagik adds inspector norse style blissful squiggly bleeps to 'falling', to great effect imo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07W2o0rTOss

new fan on Twitter

Rihanna ‏@rihanna
What y'all think about HAIM?

ILX First Mentions:

Matt Armstrong wrote this on thread Rolling Teenpop 2007 Thread on board I Love Music on Jun 22, 2007

A few months ago, dabug rattled off a few forgotten (or soon to be forgotten) teenpop acts. That's how I discovered the insanity that is Gemz.

One of the other ones was The Valli Girls. And the Valli Girls confuse me.

I was only able to download 2 songs, a dull ballad off the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie (Always There In You) and a mindbending single- Don't Gotta.

Don't Gotta is amazing. It has an extremely lame chorus-- "Don't Gotta Have Sex, babe, if you want to be sexxxxy!"-- and the verses are a nonsensical melange of female empowerment, but the song is an assault of hooks. This song has it all: monstrous chord progression, huge bass, beautiful vocal harmonies and fills, a rap solo, a soaring guitar fill, and even a tire screech for good measure. I love it.

So then I visited their myspace page. It hasn't been updated in 7 months. The band is seemingly defunct, without ever putting out a record, but you can stream basically an entire album.

The descriptions of the band itself on the myspace, and their label's website, are unbelievable:

"Costa Rican native Houghton is the band's powerhouse vocalist. Guitarist Danielle Haim-who is endorsed by Gibson guitars-was schooled on Zeppelin, Hendrix, Clapton and "all three Kings-Albert, Freddie and of course, B.B." Danielle's sister, Este-the most outgoing and boy crazy member of the band-brings the slappin', in-your-face bass to the party. The classically-trained, Japanese-American, Ally Maki works her magic on the keyboard. Although she is the youngest member of the band, Lil' Nix plays seven instruments and brings slamming drum beats with a hip-hop attitude."

"Lil Nix can quote any Notorious B.I.G song VERBATUM (sic). Try her. She never disappoints. She also happens to be ridiculously punc tual (sic)! Jeez Nix! Raquel Houghton is our fearless lead singer who always brings the funk when we're jamming. Plus she has the best reflexes of anyone in the Valley. Not sure what that means but its gotta be good. Pura Vida. She also hails from Costa Rica. Sweet. Danielle Haim rocks out on her guitar and puts all the boys to shame with her mad shredding skills. It has been witnessed. Please do not attempt unless you would like the shredding of the skills up close. Don't mess with her, she knows Kung Fu. Ally Maki is our resident Chopin/Keytar player, who also has the most vast knowledge of the Chanel clothing line EVER! Not to mention she's pretty handy with a pair of scissors and a needle and thread. Ally really needs to be in the next installment of Charlie's Angels. Just a thought. Este Haim enjoys slapping things, among them is the bass. She also has a kick ass sense of humor and always keeps us laughing. And no....she's not crazy........ all in all, to us its all about having fun and playing our music! that's all for now folks!"

I mean, seriously. WHAT? Is this for real? Or is it all a Monkees-like act? The gorgeous lead singer with chops, the quirky bassist with a more rock voice, the cute asian keyboardist, the spunky rapper/drummer. It's all a little hard to believe. But... I want to believe.

Do they actually play the instruments on the records? Because, indeed, the drumming on the records IS awesome, and the bass is great too. And I mean, fuck, a KEYTAR?!?!!?

And the songs, the songs! Why didn't they ever release the record?

Born to Lead- Minimalist R&B with synth riff. Somehow related to a Cosmo Girl promotion

It's a hair thing- Fun Disney Channel rockpop with the INSANE lyric "Welcome to the Trollz World," and the awesome lyric "Conquer evil, then go shopping." Apparently from some Trollz related cartoon.

Don de esta Corazon- Latin ballad. Why not? Effective chorus, yet again.

Keys to the hummer- AWESOME lyrical hook in chorus. "don't want to be the fun for your summer, just give me the keys to your hummer" Novelty subject matter should have resulted in a hit, I think. Feisty, ultra-simple guitar fill that warms my heart.

Amazing- Maybe their high point. The chorus has a vocal run that is delicate, subtle and irresistible. But listening to this song, you'd think it was not from a band, but a solo pop singer. That's a striking thing about their songs-- each one is dramatically different.

Never Say Never- Enjoyable ripoff of Complicated. Like that song, has fun rhythmic adventures in the verses.

I would appreciate any and all further information about this unusual band that the board can provide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1JD7-Mydtw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVLpMS74yig

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1JD7-Mydtw

oh, I see that it was covered in the Nardwuar video. Still, lolling at the ghosts of Rolling Teenpop 2007.

The track they do with Cudi on his new album ("Red Eye") is shamefully good.

warming to this band a lot. I think I didn't really dig their presence in the videos much, but the songwriting and production is great. Comes from a similar place to Francis and the Lights -- highly emo, painstakingly crafted, 80s-tinged pop.

lol just realized I used almost exact same description upthread

oh and also that lindstrom/prins remix of forever is tight

They're coming to Merriweathr Post this summer, but opening for something called Of Monsters and Men.

hey!

Of Monsters and Men

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Dave_Simpson/2013/06/30/primal_scream_bring_haim_onstage_at_gl

lol, starpulse was just the first thing that came up in google news search. I don't know why I didn't pick a better story to link.

here's a live clip from Glastonbury

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmes5nAOUa4

more here
https://www.youtube.com/user/fallingforhaim?feature=watch

impressive performance

and I like their drummer

those links are dead now but extended highlights here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ej58q9/acts/a6r38g#p01c3642

"falling" and the introducing stage set are both available internationally

I can't get enough of this http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01372ns
I prefer it to the studio version.

wow! great performance.

yeah I think I'm liking the more rock-ish edge they put on their live performances vs. the more programmed sound of the studio stuff.

They were singing for Primal Scream rather well too.
Can't fault them.

this is really good. i was thinking that the recorded sound vs the live sound was kind of mirage-era f mac vs peter green-era f mac and then they do that killer version of 'oh well', lovely.

I'm still tripped OUT by the rolling teenpop 2007 mention upthread. That was right when I came onboard ilx and I didn't really get the whole musical vibe here and I remember thinking who the hell listens to teenpop?

They need to release a full album right now. Do we have any release date confirmed? Their music is ripe for the summer.

I feel like I'm already kind of burned out on the EP material, but somehow that makes me agree they need to release an album. I have this feeling like their timing is off at this point for releasing an album. Too much material has been out for too long. I hope they don't miss a chance for bigger commercial success. I can definitely see them staying around for a long time as a live band, but if they don't get the timing write for recorded releases, I don't know. They might not get later chances.

I feel that I'd like their studio material to be just a little less smooth and studio polished (in most cases), but I don't actually prefer the live recordings. I'd try to see them live, though, given the chance.

Release date for the album is September 23rd at the moment. I think it should have come out last week just after their Glastonbury performance, it would have sailed to number one.