When I saw Julian Casablancas on is solo tour back in 2011 a
little American band called Haim opened for them. It pains me to this day that
I can’t really remember what they sounded like or what they played. (I know I
loved them, I bought a shirt!) Little did I know that I was watching a band
that was going to grow into what they are today.
Three sisters, Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim, along with
drummer Dash Hutton, make up the group that has been topping the charts in the
UK as well as making a name for themselves in the US. It seems like everywhere
I go I am starting to hear about them more. They were even playing Days Are Gone in my favorite bar this
past weekend. Needless to say I danced a lot in my seat.
So what is so great about them? Well, they started rolling
out EP’s with singles like “Forever” and “Don’t Save Me,” that got everyone
interested and moving like Rick Astley to their almost 80’s era rock sound. That
and they’re girls making sounds like the Arctic Monkeys. But listening to the
other tracks on those EP’s didn’t convince me of their magnitude. I would like
the first track then wade through the second and third in an attempt to gauge
the strange sounds. I figured Days Are
Gone would be similar. Welp, I was wrong.
Not many times do you listen to an album straight through
and like every song. Days Are Gone is
one of those albums. Hooked immediately into “Falling,” and then almost flowing
into the familiar “Forever” the record builds into itself with songs
continually more catchy than the last. It changes pace on “Honey & I” an
almost intimate and quiet song compared to its predecessor “If I Could Change
Your Mind,” and then builds again to the roaring titled track sung by Este,
“Days Are Gone,” an ode to growing up and moving on. The next track, a personal
favorite of mine because of its BAMFness, is the ultimate “you broke my heart,
you’d better watch out,” anthem. Words cannot express how cool the “My Song 5”
is, or how cool you’ll feel when you listen to it. Just do it, ok? And wear a
leather jacket whilst.
The record doesn’t even lose momentum when they take it down
for the only “slow” song on the album, “Go Slow.” You don’t go slowly for long
however (have I said slow enough?), when they end the record with probably one
of the strongest songs on the LP, “Let Me Go,” and then the closer “Running
When You Call My Name.” If you haven’t
picked up Days Are Gone yet, put it
at the top of your list. These girls are going to be the next biggest thing. I
mean, Alana toured with Julian, how could they not be?
Songs to Look Out For:
Forever
The Wire
If I Could Change Your Mind
Don’t Save Me
Days Are Gone
My Song 5
Let Me Go
Oh sheesh just get the album.
