Rapturous reviews of Haim’s SXSW shows this year would have you believe the LA-based quartet – three sisters and friend Dash Hutton – were mixing genres in such a way that music would never be the same again.
In all honesty their excellent debut EP Forever (which they gave away for free on their website) isn’t quite the revelation critics would have you believe.
There is, however, something instantly likeable about their music, particularly the way they avoid fetishising lo-fi as if it’s the holy grail. Forever, for example, not only pushes the vocals forward it also makes space for cowbells, funk guitar, cymbal splashes and vocal harmonies. It’s not murky, or buried under feedback and fuzz, but big, bold and sprightly.
For the video – directed by Austin Peters and premiered here exclusively – old footage of the sisters as kids on holiday is intercut with shots of them riding on their bikes while guys do wheelies on motorcycles. It’s the perfect mix of studied cool, 90s teen drama, and Destiny’s Child dance moves.
• The Forever EP can be downloaded from haimtheband.com and is released on vinyl on 2 July through National Anthem Records. • • • Michael Cragg • The Guardian
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