HAIM have most certainly moved onto bigger things over the years. This ranges from high-profile collaborations, their third album, a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, and even a feature on the Barbie soundtrack. However, the recently released 10th Anniversary Edition of their debut album Days Are Gone shows that there is always time for classics, as the band revisit their beginnings as an emerging indie act.
The album distilled elements of the Californian Soft Rock and R&B genres, and subsequently skyrocketed the band into fame, with the carefree tunes were an anthem to the summer of 2013. Ten years later, it still brings those days back, with this reissue compiling previous releases that didn’t make the original album, a demo, and remixes.
Some of their lesser-known songs make an appearance in this edition, particularly, ‘Better Off’ and ‘Send Me Down’, which were released as part of the Forever EP and Deluxe Edition of the album. These songs blend in seamlessly, almost giving the impression that they should have been in the original 2013 release. ‘Better Off’ relies on melodic vocals mimicking R&B-style singing. It further borrows from the genre by using creative percussive elements graced with the occasional guitar riff. On the other hand, ‘Send Me Down’ is characterised by its epic brass instrumentation, making the song a revelation of how HAIM can push the bounds of what they are typically famous for.
Days Are Gone shows that HAIM’s musical identity has already been well-defined even in their debut years, and this seems like something they continue to draw from, yet simultaneously build on. The band’s most recent studio album, Women in Music Pt. III, for example, maintains the signature guitar picking and vocal harmonies but has a wider variety of instruments. In this album, they enlisted saxophonist Henry Solomon, creating depth and opening up new possibilities for sound. The 10th Anniversary Edition continues this momentum, melding the multiple facets that make HAIM’s music distinctly theirs, including melodic vocal layering, beat-spanning percussions, and hypnotic repetition.
Among the tracklist, ‘Go Slow – Demo’ stands out most as it veers away from the production of the rest of the album. Stripped of the studio polish, its rawness captures the spirit of the lyrics, with the delivery further elevating this; Danielle Haim’s vulnerable vocals, coupled with the guitar and percussion at the helm of the instrumentation provide a peek into the creative process behind the version we all know. What makes ‘Go Slow’ a great song is the vocal harmonies and short, yet sweet synthesiser melodies. The constraints of a simpler arrangement rely on their musicianship and chemistry, which by now is no surprise. After all, besides being sisters, they’ve been playing music since they were young.
The 10th Anniversary Edition seems to be a celebration of the sound HAIM have created and mastered throughout their career, doing so by capturing beloved aspects of their songs and putting them in crisp focus, right where they belong.
Words by Marinel Dizon