Posted by With the climate being so tumultuous as it is at present, it surprised no one when HAIM postponed their long-awaited third album.
What will come as a surprise is the daring nature of the upcoming release. ‘Women In Music Pt. III’ holds nothing bar the rock roots of the band sacred. They manipulate sounds, sample vocals and involve instruments they had never touched before.
And it all works in their favour. Even the title is a protest against the boxes they have previously been slotted into, with it highlighting the main issue that most female artists encounter, the idea that women are simply that, their sex, not their talent or an equal.
With the constantly demeaning examination of women in the industry as being a singular genre, the sisters have set out to prove once more that they are not a box -ticking exercise, but are heavy competition to the male-dominated world they exist in.
Following the success of ‘Something To Tell You’, which debuted at No.2 on the UK album charts and No.7 on the Billboard 200, the band are aiming high with this next instalment. ‘The Steps’ and ‘Summer Girl’ have set a solid foundation for this ambitious body of work.
Exploring the intricacies of relationships and mental health, the album hones in on Danielle’s experiences of depression and her partner’s battle with illness. It sounds macabre when observing the driving factors of these tracks, but instead we’re graced with upbeat music, the antidote for the negativity that surrounds us. They speak out and speak up about the wrongs that surround them, like the patriarchal limitations placed on them (‘Man In The Magazine’), but also explore the joy of the everyday (‘Hallelujah’).
With an album of this size, downfalls are typically inevitable; that one song that doesn’t hit the mark or a chorus that doesn’t strike a chord. But here, HAIM have given us the world on a silver platter, and in times like these, it’s the perfect antidote to normality.
8/10
Words: Megan Walder
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