Album Review: Days Are Gone by Haim – Los Angeles, CA

haim-days-are-gone-album-artArtist: Haim
Album Title: Days Are Gone
Album Reviewer: Dale Y the Green Guy
iMoveiLive Rating: 4 out of 5
iMoveiLive rating 4 Approval

 
If you are not familiar with this sister act, then you better start tuning in. Haim, the sisters Este, Danielle and Alana, are on the verge of becoming something special, and if you have a chance to hear them, you’ll understand why. They have just finished a tour of England, have been playing sold-out gigs in the south and west (and their live shows are quickly becoming “must see” events) and they have just finished doing Saturday Night Live! Needless to say, they killed it!
The three sisters, and a mister, Josh Hutton on drums, have become one of the go-to Indie bands that have made a seriously exciting musical name for themselves during the past year. They have finally released their first album called, “Days Are Gone,” and it sent ripples of amazement through the music scene. It debuted at #1 in the UK, beating out Justin Timberlake’s new album, and it came in at #6 on American shores in its first week. How’s that for some first timers mojo?
4 singles off the album have been released, and they are, “Forever,” “The Wire,” Don’t Save Me,” and “Falling.” With Danielle doing the majority of the lead vocals, sisters Este and Alana are getting plenty of supporting vocals and harmonizing. They have ether fully written or co-authored every song on the album, with familiar vocals and a wave about them that almost sounds as if you have heard these songs before. The tunes are already so polished and pure that each and every one of them makes you smile just a bit wider.
Danielle has almost a soft smoky quality to her voice, evident in the singles above. Both Alana and Este have a bit more edge to their voices, and when harmonizing or supporting Danielle, they compliment each other like echoes in a canyon. In “The Wire,” they all take turns on lead, and in “Falling,” they each let their voices fall over the track in a style that can only be called their own.
The sleeper is called “Honey and I,” with an almost reggae guitar and drum beat that showcases just how personal the song and the music is, Danielle on lead, and it may be the best song on the album.
Although there is nothing real fancy here, nothing experimental or controversial, the songs on the album resonate to all of the days that are gone. They sound more like a 70’s or 80’s band, and the Gibson Les Paul that Alana uses for rhythm, the Gibson SG Classic that Danielle plays, and the Fender Bass that Este gets down on, adds to that retro musical sensation. Their sound has been compared to Fleetwood Mac, and that ain’t half bad for a band that has just released its first album.
Through all of the hip-hop, through all of the EDM and through all of the Lady Gagas, Miley Cyruses and Madonnas, come three young women who are uniquely talented, write their own songs, are genuinely humble and can rock and roll with the best of them. To prove it, watch one of their stage shows, especially “Let Me Go,” featuring incredible primal drum energy that ends the song. This is another song on their album that is better seen live.
Days Are Gone is not perfect, by any means, but it is like that first taste of ice cream on a hot and sunny day. You savor it while it melts on your tongue, but you know there will be more where that came from, and you just can’t wait.
Here is Haim at Reading in England. Watch for the famous Este “bass face” and the drum rhythms in “Let Me Go” as the last song of their set.  One of their best concerts.

Honey and I, the sleeper on the album.

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