By: Tina Turner

HAIM’s newest released album, Something to Tell You could be the most organic form of art that the year 2017 will receive. Released in May of this year, fans of the three sister act have been waiting since 2013 for more of HAIM’s glorious sounds. I might be biased, since I’ve been a fan since the EP, Forever, but even with that being said, critics agree that Something to Tell You is a force to be reckoned with.HAIM

The girl band is made up of master storytellers. This album is all about losing the one you once loved and being left with unfinished business. Every song is so honest. Like in the opening song of the album, “Want You Back”, lead singer and oldest sister, Danielle Haim, admits in her in her lyrics, “I was too proud to say I wrong… Just know that I want you back.” From the very start of the album you know exactly what you are in for, a love story without a happy ending.

HAIM is well known for being absolute craftsmen on the drums, you can especially here it in their last album, Days are Gone, but this time around I feel as though their use of synths steals the instrumental show. This definitely helps with the tone of the album. Remember all those 80’s heartbreak songs with the synthesizers in the background? Yeah, they have reinvented that. But do not get me wrong, this album is not surrounded by melancholy feels. Sure there is this undertone of longing within every song, but most of the songs are pretty upbeat. What else would you expect from a band whose genre can be described as soft rock, R&B, and American pop, AT THE SAME TIME?

If you want that more upbeat vibe definitely listen to “Little of Your Love”, and let’s please not forget “Ready For You”. The chorus of “Ready For You” is spunky and soulful, definitely one of my favorites. That song also may have the most complexity of timing and instruments that sets it apart from the others.

Like I said earlier, HAIM is known for being great percussionist and if you need proof of that, the song “Something to Tell You” can surely do the trick. Also the girls sound so incredibly unified in this particular song it’s almost uplifting.

My favorite opening in a song can be found in the first 15 seconds of “You Never Knew”. It’s just so… experimental. I get such groovy feels, and then suddenly I’m approached by what sounds like Fleetwood Mac, how they did that, I do not know, but it was exemplary. A perfect example of how to reinvent the sweetest sounds of the 70’s and 80’s.

”Honestly, the song, “Kept Me Crying” may be the most relatable song on the album with lyrics like, “Don’t call just to tell me that you don’t love me anymore.” If you’ve been through a break up you know exactly what that means. Your ex is up late at night with nothing to do, ends up thinking about you and “missing you” for a hot second, calls you up, snaps back into his senses mid convo, and then boom, heartbreak all over again. HAIM gets it.  And I would just like to add that there is absolute shredding on the guitar done in this song!

Take it as you will, but Danielle’s voice reminds me a lot of Annie Lennox’s voice, especially in “Found it in Silence”. Listen to that song, and then listen to Annie Lennox’s, “Walking on Broken Glass” and see for yourself.

Pointing more towards their American pop style, “Walking Away” has it covered. The sound itself sounds cool. I’m not searching for a better adjective either. The song really and truly does just sound so, cool; it might be another one of my favorites when I think about it.

Nearing the end of the album, “Right Now” is a song that in a way goes against the previous songs on the album. In the beginning the songs is really just a synth here and there and the wholesome voice of Danielle Haim. The song itself is like a surprise. In the lyrics there is what can be described as a bit of sarcasm or maybe shock to the idea that now this guy is, “saying that you [he] need[s] me.” Like really? Now you’re saying that you need me?? Where were you when I needed you?! –at least I think that is what she is going for. Then the surprise of every new instrument popping up more towards the end is quite exciting to say the least.

But here we are at the closing song of the album, “Night So Long”, my, what a way to end it. It’s when R&B with a mix of soft rock comes into play. It is beautiful. I feel like I’m looking at a magnificent starry night when I listen to this! This song has only the best parts about love songs from the 80’s in it. I wish this generation respected soft rock love songs more like they did in the 80’s, because I can see this song topping number #1 on charts if that were the case.

I was waiting for this album for a very long time and now that it is here I cannot stop rooting for it. There is this smooth linear growth in the sound and lyrics when looking back to Days Are Gone to Something to Tell You. These ladies are craftsmen, they stand alone in their sound today. They create and reinvent in such a splendid manner. No matter what kind of music you listen to, you should give HAIM a chance, because they are the kind of band like Fleetwood Mac or Aerosmith, that will go down in history.