As they prepare to release I Quit, their fourth studio album, Haim have been reflecting on what they perceive to be a lack of respect from the rock music establishment.
Despite their more than decade-long commercial success and critical acclaim – 2020 album Women in Music Pt. III was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2021 Grammy Awards – the three Haim sisters (Este, Danielle and Alana) believe that they’re still subject to a degree of condescension.
“If we use one synth or one poppy thing they’re like, ‘They’re a pop band,’” guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Alana Haim tells GQ. “And we’re like, pop isn’t a bad fucking word. Rock isn’t a bad word either.”
Bassist/vocalist Este, meanwhile, is tired of having to defend the band against commenters on their live performance videos who claim that they’re not playing their instruments on stage because they’re not plugged in.
“It’s always a guy,” she says. “It’s like, my dog, we’re playing with wireless,” adds Danielle. “Are you a fucking idiot?”
Lead guitarist and vocalist Danielle also suggests that part of the problem is that Haim can’t easily be pigeon-holed: “For some reason, people that need to put people in boxes don’t get us,” she says.
On what prevents them from being accepted by some, Alana says: “We love to dance and we love to make people laugh, and for some reason that’s a no-go.”
None of which is to say that Haim aren’t respected by not only their peers – they previously collaborated with Taylor Swift, and Danielle appears on Sable, Fable, the latest Bon Iver album – but also some music legends.
Stevie Nicks, for example, is a huge fan. “It starts with Danielle’s voice – it is just stunning,” she tells GQ. “She’s the first part of the puzzle, but then the percussion that Este and Alana wrap around her turn all of their songs into percussive masterpieces. (They are) something that I have never heard before. But coming from Mick Fleetwood’s great love of their kind of percussion, for me in a way, it’s like coming home.”
In fact, Nicks is happy to pay the Haim sisters the ultimate compliment: “They could certainly all have been in Fleetwood Mac,” she says, adding that she’s in the process of working on a song with the band that may be released in the future.
As for those who still don’t get Haim – or simply refuse to – Este suggests that they’re over it, an attitude reflected in that new album title.
“I think it’s all quite antiquated,” she says. “The whole setup is… who gives a shit about that? It’s really old school. We quit caring about that shit.”
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