Rating: NNNN
The internet made music more accessible, but radio still has power to influence our collective consciousness. It can anoint an artist as commercially viable or shape mainstream trends, pushing dance divas into David Guetta’s pitch-shifted ghetto or rappers to imitate Drake’s singsongy flow.
Haim’s debut, Days Are Gone, is influenced by the radio in the best way possible. Its 11 single-worthy pop songs sound as if Los Angeles-raised sisters Danielle, Este and Alana Haim cherry-picked their favourite songwriting and production tricks from the past 30 years of hits – staccato harmonizing, reverby rhythms, towering guitar riffs – to craft their own effusive and utterly likeable take on lovelorn pop.
The album is a studious and slickly produced blend of digital and analog that gives a lot of breathing room to the sisters’ stacks of bubbly harmonies – their not-so-secret weapon. It’s a taut, punchy album full of winning charm, and blessedly free of cynicism and ego.
Top track: Honey & I