The Singles Jukebox

Still not in need of saving…

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[7.22]Will Adams: Not one to fall prey to gimmicks, Haim do away with the clattering percussion of their past singles and offer something a bit more reserved. The rub is that they sound just as effective in a stripped-down setting, bouncing atop the rollicking low end with ease. Even better is hearing another Haim sister get the mic; the contrast between Alana’s laid-back hum and Danielle’s consonant-inclined rasp makes the lyrics more inclusive. The best thrill, though, is when it all collides in a glorious chorus. These women know how to handle hype: churn out hit after hit, throw a curveball every now and then, and keep their audience on the edge of their seats.
[8]

Katherine St Asaph: Is Haim due for an early backlash? I’ve seen at least five people jump off the bandwagon in the past month claiming they’ve become overly dance-pop, or overly commercial, or too much of either to merit the hype — which wouldn’t usually be a career problem except these are the exact sorts of people Haim were initially pitched at. They’ve got the opposite of the problem, anyway. “The Wire” isn’t ostentatious at all, and only commercial in the sense that it’s likable pop-rock comfort food. The drums snap but not too much; the singers are limber, conversational everyfolks; the guitar on the studio recording is crunchy only briefly, and only enough to register. Like most of Haim’s singles, it makes a virtue of being pleasant. I prefer different virtues.
[6]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Business as usual for Haim – a well-written, shiny song with enough callbacks to the 70s canon acts to leave everybody satisfied. (Hello, Phil Lynott guitar licks.) As easy as “The Wire” wafts by, it still doesn’t seem like the whole package – expertly hitting reference points is great and all, but I still have little idea what Haim are supposed to be offering beside an uncomplicated strike of something for everyone. Perhaps that’s all they’ve got.
[6]

Josh Langhoff: The lead guitar tickles you under your chin, the sisters’ voices I can tell apart (unlike Mary Mary or Tegan and Sara, though I like those groups anyway), and we obviously prize many of the same classic rock radio qualities. They might prize Joe Walsh a little more than I do. Nevertheless, I’m suddenly excited for the album.
[7]

Jonathan Bradley: Haim shifts from a weightless glide to a glam shimmy for “The Wire,” and the meaty arrangement does no harm. “You know I’m bad at communication; it’s the hardest thing for me to do,” is the opening, an over-stuffed lyric that, with its surfeit of verbalism, proves self-fulfilling and also explains how this band can be both overly careful and impressively assured. It’s becoming tiresome to bring up Buckingham, Nicks, et al when talking about these guys, but Fleetwood Mac had a knack for anodizing rock swagger into pop analgesia too. (“The Ledge,” “The Chain.”)
[8]

Alfred Soto: Mumbling and confessing over programmed thwacks, the sisters let go during a chorus garnished with terse power chord interjections and glam-rock “hey”s. It’s not “Don’t Save Me” — call it a solid album track.
[7]

Anthony Easton: I feel affirmed and made pure by the earnestness of the lyrics, and the seamless quality of the music. It’s total bullshit, but what is pop music but effective bullshit.
[7]

Patrick St Michael: An interesting scheduling conflict at a big music festival I recently went to was the organizers placing Haim right up against harsher outfit Savages. This led to a lot of people I know comparing the two, with dashed-off tweets like “Savages > HAIM.” Ignoring the obvious ridiculousness of the situation, why only compare the all-woman bands with one another when both were a million times better than the bearded doofuses that played most of the stages? I found myself on Team Haim for the reason others didn’t like them — they just sound so polished, so focused. “The Wire” is a good example of this, as it sounds perfected down to each stretched-out syllable. But that attention to detail pays off, because this just struts right into your head and won’t leave. It’s not quite as good as “Falling,” but still highlights all the reasons I think Haim > most rock music released in 2013.
[8]

Brad Shoup: Not glitterbeat, but Eaglesbeat: “Heartache Tonight,” specifically, and without looking it up I bet that was the intended victim. The guitar stings are straight from the Joe Walsh catalog, too. But instead of using the studio to sweeten sleepwalking harmonies, Haim labbed out a compact Adult Alternative symphony. Fat bass zips, “Call Me Maybe” strings, synths mimicking the McAloons: this is the sort of battle plan for non-revolution that used to drive right-thinking critics nuts. (This could still be someone’s straw, I suppose.) Its sweatfree skill is its primary recommendation, though. They’re an L.A. band through and through: completely in their own headspace, making that music for cars, burning that cash the best they can.
[8]