has declared this season to be and offered us the soundtrack. Heartsick never sounded so good.
鈥淚 Quit,鈥� the fourth full-length album from the trio, is a breakup collection that never gets too weepy. You can dance to a lot of it. Even the song 鈥淐ry,鈥� which name-checks the seven stages of grief, is an upbeat bop.
Six years after the trio released their jazzy, Lou Reed-y single 鈥淪ummer Girl,鈥� the mood has somewhat soured this summer. Across 15 tracks, the songs are about fresh splits, old wounds and newfound independence.
鈥淣ow I鈥檓 gone/Quick as a gunshot/Born to run/Can鈥檛 be held up,鈥� go the lyrics for the opening track 鈥淕one,鈥� which samples from George Michael鈥檚 anthem of liberty 鈥淔reedom! 鈥�90.鈥�
Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim found themselves all single for the first time in a long time while making the album, looking back with equal parts venom and guilt. 鈥淵ou know I鈥檓 trying to change/鈥機ause I know I鈥檓 not innocent,鈥� goes 鈥淟ove You Right.鈥�
鈥淭he Farm鈥� has a rootsy twang, 鈥淒own to be Wrong鈥� has a Sheryl Crow vibe and 鈥淭ake Me Back鈥� has a Go-Go's feel. 鈥淟ove You Right鈥� is pure Fleetwood Mac harmonies, even making reference to a chain. 鈥淪pinning鈥� is a slice of house bliss with overlapping harmonies, easily the most danceable Haim song since 鈥淚 Want You Back.鈥� The wistful, warm 鈥淢illion Years鈥� leans into electronica.
The bluesy 鈥淏lood on the Street鈥� has more vitriol (鈥淚 swear you wouldn鈥檛 care/If I was covered in blood lying dead on the street鈥�) but ends with freedom: 鈥淣ow the sun鈥檚 up, I鈥檓 out, and that鈥檚 that.鈥� And 鈥淩elationships鈥� is a standout on a standout album, with Danielle Haim's falsetto exploring the agony of romantic ties and her sister's bass thumping.
But the best song has to be 鈥淓verybody's Trying to Figure Me Out,鈥� in which each Haim shines as tempos change and the song morphs from folk to indie rock to blissed-out '70s, with the final mantra: 鈥淵ou think you鈥檙e gonna die/But you鈥檙e not gonna die.鈥�
The album is co-produced by Danielle Haim and HAIM鈥檚 frequent collaborator Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. The trio's usual producer, Ariel Rechtshaid, split with Danielle Haim, which may account for the new energy.
The album closer, 鈥淣ow It's Time,鈥� interpolates U2鈥檚 industrial-pop song 鈥淣umb,鈥� adds cool drum rhythms and an Alanis Morissette-like strut, ending with an exhilarating jam session. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time/To let go,鈥� says the lyrics. Not to this album.
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More AP reviews:
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
