The production on this record is so wonderfully warm whilst somehow feeling stripped back and sparse compared to their first two albums. Lyrically, this is Haim at their most emotionally mature and most reflective.

I’ve always had a funny relationship with Haim. I honestly hated them when I first heard them, primarily just because a friend of mine was obsessed with them. A few years later, just a few months before their second album came out, I did a complete 180º turn on my opinion and decided to give this band its fair chance. Unfortunately their sophomore project disappointed me. With only a handful of actually incredible pop tracks, the rest of the album felt like unnecessary filler. 

‘Women In Music part iii’ is the album I’ve always wanted from Haim: a collection of incredible songs that really work together. The album has sophistication to it that Haim’s previous releases seriously lacked. The first track on the record ‘Los Angeles’ blurs open with a cool saxophone solo, a backdrop against which Haim speak of the pride in their LA origins. It’s worth noting that this was one of the first tracks written for the album. There’s something in the production on this track and the rest of the tracks on the record that’s so warm but still stripped back compared to their previous albums. 

‘The Steps’ was the main lead single from this album (although a few of the bonus tracks released early). This track was a little disappointing on first listen. However, in the context of the rest of the record the song really works. Its gorgeous electric guitar lines, fat bass tones and twinkling keys really add to the arrangement of this song and something about the production on this record feels so incredibly organic. Lyrically, Haim speak of their frustrations with the music industry and their past treatment. ‘I Know Alone’ is more of a standard pop track that follows. However, lyrically there is a definite seriousness, drawing from heavy themes of isolation and not wanting to brave the outside world.

‘Up From A Dream’ has a very chunky bass groove that starts it on the right foot. Something about this track is so fun! I get real Vampire Weekend vibes with this track but that makes sense given Rostam Batmanglij’s writing credit. This whole album reminds me of the efforts seen on the last Vampire Weekend record ‘Father of the Bridge’. I love the way this track ends with alarm clocks just as if you were waking up from a dream. The next track ‘Gasoline’ has some blissful vocals. All the while, the bass line here has a funky quality to it while the track’s drums sound crisp and tight.

‘3am’ is an energetic song singing predominantly about a ‘booty call’; it explores never ending phone calls, and being annoyed with it but still answering the call. This track, although very on the nose, is really enjoyable. ‘Don’t Wanna’ is yet another catchy sing-along style pop banger on this record. Speaking with Apple Music, Alana wrote ‘I think this is classic HAIM. It was one of the earlier songs which we wrote around the same time as ‘Now I’m in It.’ We always really, really loved this song, and it always kind of stuck its head out like, ‘Hey, remember me?’ It just sounded so good being simple. We can tinker around with a song for years, and with this one, every time we added something or changed it, it lost the feeling. And every time we played it, it just kind of felt good. It felt like a warm sweater.’

‘Another Try’ really reminded me of Ace of Base for some reason (or should I say Ace of Baseface?). The theme and lyrics to this track were written by Alana, exploring ‘the love of her’ and giving it another try with them. Accordingly, this song takes on a whole new dimension when you learn that Alana discovered shortly after writing that the love in question had gotten engaged to someone else. The next track, ‘Leaning On You’, might be my favourite song on the album. Something about the sliding guitar and effects sound really happy to me. There’s a real tenderness in this track, with Haim’s lyrics evocative and reassuringly poignant ‘It takes all that I’ve got, not to fuck it up’. There’s a substantive optimism in the track throughout that only amplifies my opinion on it.

By the time ‘I’ve Been Down’ plays you realise this is an incredible album and an appreciable step up for Haim. There’s a real desire to scream along with the lyrics and there’s so much call and response that it’s hard not to sing along. The production is incredibly tight on the drums and other instruments on this track, feeling almost stripped back even with so much warmth and space in the mix. The end of this track sees the welcome return of the saxophone heard in album opener ‘Los Angeles’.

‘Man From the Magazine’ starts with harsh acoustic guitar strumming and a passionate vocal delivery from Este. Lyrically, it tells the story of reporters disgustingly asking Este if she makes her bass-face in bed. Though at the time she deflected, in reality this kind of insensitive journalistic practice is unacceptable and fetishises a musical performer almost purely because she’s a woman. There’s some really meaningful topical engagement on this track that ties in excellently with the ‘Women In Music’ theme. 

‘All That Ever Mattered’ is probably the most poppy song on the record, at least the start is, which is quite nice after the harshness of the last track. The guitar parts on verses in this track are so crunchy and engaging. The chorus and vocal deliveries are predictably great and powerful and really play to Haim’s strengths. You get the classic speedy Haim style that otherwise feels a bit absent on this record. The guitar distortion on this track is so explosive especially towards the end whilst intertwining with the screams of the band members. 

The last track on the album ‘FUBT’ brings a fittingly powerful end to the record. Alana when talking about this track with Apple Music wrote ‘this song was one of the ones that was really hard to write. It’s about being in an emotionally abusive relationship, which all three of us have been in. It’s really hard to see when you’re in something like that.’ I think this is such a fitting emotional end to the album that has delved the deepest into Haim’s personalities and their journey as artists. The wailing guitars in the outro are blissful, soaring over the chorus and the reverb-heavy guitars that precede it. The following three bonus tracks, especially ‘Hallelujah’, are gorgeous and beg the question why they weren’t just put on the album as actual songs. That’s the sign of a good album. 

I’ve always wanted to see Haim put out a piece of work that had some serious depth to it. This album does just that. The production on this record is so wonderfully warm whilst somehow feeling stripped back and sparse compared to their first two albums. Lyrically, this is Haim at their most emotionally mature and most reflective. The topics they touch on, coupled with the fun that goes into these tracks, really create a cohesive and powerful modern day indie-pop album that Haim deserve to be truly proud of.