The five most overlooked Haim songs
Whatever “it” is, Haim have it. From the moment they burst onto the scene with their debut EP, Forever, they have carried themselves like megastars. Seemingly skipping all the awkward growing pains that other, lesser rock bands go through, they got straight to the part where they were road-honed rock stars. An unmissable live act whose synth-stuffed, achingly modern take on 1970s Fleetwood Mac took them to the top.
If anything, it’s kind of strange that it took them a few years to get to the arena-slaying territory they reside in now. They were always going to get there, especially if they kept writing with the same consistency as their debut, Days Are Gone, displayed. However, perhaps they were aware that for arena shows to truly hit, you need a back catalogue to match.
Three albums in, and with their fourth record, I Quit, on the way at the time of writing, they absolutely have a discography deserving of their hallowed position in modern rock. Their singles collection is up there with any other rock band formed this century. However, their album tracks are also just as good.
So, let’s have a look through five overlooked Haim classics and hope that they get a slot of their own on the next Haim tour!
The five most underrated Haim songs:
‘Go Slow'<em> </em>
The first half of Days Are Gone is insane. ‘Falling’ to ‘Forever’ to ‘The Wire’ to my personal favourite Haim song, ‘If I Could Change Your Mind’ to ‘Honey & I’ to ‘Don’t Save Me’ to the title track. That is a seven-song run that few artists this century have matched on a single album, let alone in the 2010s. The sheer propulsive thrill of that run also means that the moment it starts slowing up, it hits even harder. It’s just as well that the first slow moment on the album is also arguably the most underrated song on the record.
‘Go Slow’ is a power ballad par excellence. One that uses a sparse backing of synths, stabs of guitar and an unforgettable drum machine hook to create something that may slow the tempo but not the tension. Few bands have used dynamics like the Haim sisters, and when the chorus of ‘Go Slow’ hits, it does so with the same force that every chorus on the album brings. A phenomenal effort that deserves a lot more recognition than it got.
‘Let Me Go'<em> </em>
Not only the closing track for their debut album, but also the closing track for pretty much all the gigs supporting it. To be clear, nothing will match the sheer power of the song showcased in those concerts, where it took on a life of its own with its phenomenally exciting drum line outro. But there are enough visceral thrills on the studio version to more than justify its place on this list. This propulsive, seething banger begins as nothing more than a scraping synth note and morphs into Danielle Haim’s claustrophobic, vitriolic dazzler of a vocal performance, with every consonant spat at the listener like venom.
Then her bass-slaying sister, Este, turns up and matches her note for note on one of her few lead vocal turns on the record. Once the three sisters harmonise over the song’s ludicrously exciting ending, few songs in Haim’s discography feel more like a collaboration than this masterstroke of a closer.
‘Nothing’s Wrong’
It’s legitimately unfair that, as brilliant a drummer as Danielle Haim is, she’s an even better guitarist. It’s true, she’s the drummer on all their studio albums, and yet the moment she takes up the six strings, amazing things happen. Now, she can shred guitar solos with the best of them. Just take a look at all the times her band has ripped through their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’.
On record, though, the best look into her guitar playing might just come through this, the second track on their second album, Something To Tell You. For one thing, it’s an amazing sound. Warm yet with a distorted grit, her Stones-style call-and-response riffing contrasts amazingly with the stately synth-pop backing; then everything drops out to build towards a raucous, arena-slaying finale. Utter magic every time.
‘You Never Knew’ – ‘Something To Tell You ‘
The name Fleetwood Mac has been trailing Haim for as long as they have been in the public eye, and for good reason. Their music is deeply informed by the Buckingham/Nicks era of Mac in its mix of sun-drenched, effortlessly melodic joy with profound romantic turmoil in the lyrics. There are few places in the band’s whole discography where this influence shines brighter than on the sixth track from Something To Tell You.
Powered by a glistening guitar line and a subtle disco strut that has more of a hint of ‘Dreams’ to it, ‘You Never Knew’ is one of the songs in Haim’s discography that most sounds like their native Los Angeles. One can almost feel the dry, baking heat of their hometown when the sisters’ harmonies start building in the song’s magnificent outro. Even when this London-based writer is more likely to be listening to this song at a freezing cold bus stop, one can dream at least.
‘All That Ever Mattered’ – ‘Women in Music Pt III’
Haim have always toed the line between being forward thinkers and pushing throwbacks. While they made their name by combining the sounds of their native California from the 1970s and the 1990s, there have always been songs that showed they had their fingers on the pulse. ‘My Song 5’ from their debut album is a great example of this, but ‘All That Ever Mattered’ from their third album, Women In Music Pt III, takes the cake in this regard.
With a backing that owes more to hip-hop production than any Fleetwood Mac number, this claustrophobic, desperate song more than matches the setting of Haim’s darkest album. In between guest guitarist Amir Yaghmai’s distorted, compressed guitar line and the choice to make a piercing scream from Danielle Haim into a synth line, it could have been a Nine Inch Nails-style exercise in discomfort. However, Haim’s peerless ability with a melody balances everything to make one of the most captivating and fascinating songs in their back catalogue.
