Cover Feature HAIM: Calling It Quits

“This record felt like an exhale,” says Danielle. “We could finally take a little bit of a breath. We made it this far, we’re doing something right!” she says with a humble smile. The trio’s refusal to assign themselves to any genre is evidenced wholly on the new record, which defies any pigeon-holing by bouncing between joyful pop, American rock and everything in between. “We’ve never really played by any rules music wise - even when we were kids,” says Alana. “We’ve always just been striving for the sound that’s been in our brains.”

That wasn’t always the case though; the band have definitely felt pressure to define themselves in the past. “We started to get in our heads about that,” says Danielle, recalling the early days when they would get feedback from “people in positions”. “We’d be like, ‘shit, do we need to put another guitar solo in this song so people think we’re a band?’.” Alana remembers it too: “People have been trying to put us in a box since our first album; they’re like, ‘where do you fit?’. But now on record number four, the sisters have officially shed any people-pleasing skin, armed by the confidence that success has afforded them. “With this album we really didn’t think about that, we just don’t give a fuck!”

And that shows. The 15-track album, co-produced by Danielle and long-time collaborator Rostam Batmanglij, is a euphoric, sunshine-soaked burst of energy. It feels fresh and new while remaining distinctly HAIM; there’s juicy guitar solos, hooky harmonies, and surprise harmonicas - what more could you want? The record glows with alleviated perspective, one that only comes on the other side of pain. It has a distinct relief to it, like a weight has been lifted. “It started when all three of us found ourselves single at the same time, for the first time,” says Danielle. It was also the first time the band had worked without Ariel Rechtshaid, the singer’s ex-partner and long-time producer of the band, with whom she had split before the making of the record.

Despite the change, it was apparently a breeze to make - a far cry from 2021’s ‘Women in Music Part III’, when the band had brains like “scrambled eggs”. “We were in a completely different state of mind [for our last album],” recalls Alana. “There was a lot of anxiety, stress, and it all just felt uneasy.” On the contrary, this new record sees the band - quite literally - quit their troubles. “There was just this lightness to being in the studio,” she reflects. “We were very much together again - single - and there was laughter, dancing and running around!” As a band who relish gigging, they couldn’t be more excited to take this energy on the road. “We make albums to tour, and this one feels like it’s gonna be the best tour of all time, because we just had so much fun making it!”

Like so much of the trio’s music, ‘Gone’ has a distinctly Californian feel to it, but there are also transatlantic touches to be found in there, too. Starting with a humble acoustic guitar, it escalates into a jangling, swelling choir, akin to Primal Scream’s ‘Movin’ On Up’ - a band who, according to the sisters, were a huge influence. The girls grew up obsessed with British music culture, and recall hunting all over LA to get a copy of NME. Danielle remembers being in awe seeing vocalist Bobby Gillespie hanging out with Kate Moss: “they were just like these idols,” she says.

They’re not the only British legends whose sonic fingerprints can be heard on ‘Gone’: later, the song transforms into a honey-glazed celebration of ‘Freedom’ - literally - as the band drops a surprise George Michael sample into the mix. “He’s just always been the coolest,” Danielle says of the late icon, who she cites as one of her biggest musical inspirations. The idea was born after the sisters watched the Wham! documentary and listened to Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’, which uses sampling throughout. “I started thinking, ‘oh my God, ‘Freedom’ - that feels exactly how I want the song to feel!’” It didn’t take much to get Rostam on board either: “He was like ‘George Michael - we’re fucking going there!’” she remembers. “It’s such a huge responsibility, and [a choice made] out of pure admiration and respect for that song, for him, and the mark he made on music - I hope people like it.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite as smooth sailing when it came to lead single ‘Relationships’. Originally written for ‘Women In Music Part III’, the modern pop banger would go on to take a whopping seven years to finish. The track began life on Danielle’s phone, the chorus miraculously dropping into her head one day. “I think my favourite songs are the ones that come down fully realised within minutes,” she says, laughing. “When that happens you kind of have to be like ‘thank you’ to whatever spirit.”

During the making of the record, Danielle moved in with Alana. “I would wake up in the morning to Danielle blasting some sort of GarageBand beat on speakers and I was like, ‘that’s fire, but I’m trying to sleep!’” laughs Alana, reenacting the scenario. The sisters still use the exact same process as they did in the early days. “As a songwriter it’s really stifling to be like, ‘I’m gonna write a full song today’. I think for us, it’s always just been about not putting too much pressure on yourself,” says Danielle of their foolproof technique. “Sit down, just write a part, just write a thing, just write one melody that you like, throw spaghetti at the wall!”

But despite ‘Relationships’ initially arriving so quickly, it took a lot of wasted pasta for it to finally come to full fruition. When HAIM tried to record the song, it just never quite fit. “It was the thorn in our side, but also as three sisters we knew there was something to it,” explains Danielle. Looking back, the group thinks it was meant to be that way. “It’s funny how the universe works,” says Alana. “Somebody up there knew this one wasn’t supposed to be on that album and they put every sort of roadblock in front of it so we couldn’t finish it.” But the song refused to quit, and when it came to the new album, ‘Relationships’ resurfaced. “It took seven years to get to that point and then it [got] finished really quickly,” says Danielle. “Somebody in the universe was like, ‘hold on, babes’,” says Alana before being interrupted by her sister. “We’re talking a lot about spirits,” Danielle laughs, “that’s a very LA thing.” “Well, you know what, I’m from LA, so fuck it!” Alana retorts.

No song is less guarded than ‘I want you all over me’, a primal, thirsty track that cuts out the noise of lust and gets straight to the point. “When I hear that I have to remind myself that sometimes it’s just not that deep - fuck it,” says Danielle, embracing the straightforward sentiment of the song. “To me, that’s one of my favourite lyrics ‘cause it just puts the listener in control of what they want, how they want it, and how they want to be intimate with someone.”

In fact, for Danielle, most of the record is about letting go. “I think it goes back to - for me at least - living for yourself,” she says. “I think that’s the thing that I’ve really tried to lead with in my life for the last couple of years: taking chances. That’s gonna sound lame, but just coming into your own [and practicing] self-discovery is huge for me.” Alana feels the same: “It’s about getting to know yourself. It’s really nice to look at myself and be like, ‘I like who I am now’.” The band hopes it will speak to their fanbase in the same way. “If people listen to this album, I hope they just find an inner confidence that comes from themselves, rather than from the people around them. It’s a very different thing that we definitely learnt - it didn’t come naturally.”

Even the title itself is a slogan to live by, inspired by a line from their favourite childhood film - the Tom Hanks flick That Thing You Do! - it’s an ode to quitting, and the fact it can actually be an act of self-love. “That’s what we really wanted to evoke,” says Alana: “Quitting is not always a bad thing, it’s a new start, and we really did bet on ourselves on this album. There are a lot of times we really did put the mirror in front of us and let everybody into our minds,” she explains. This kind of vulnerability is something that has been a gradual process for HAIM, but is nonetheless still a frightening prospect, given how many ears will hear the songs. “It’s always scary,” says Danielle, “but honestly, I think it takes a lot of courage, and on this album, we really had no fear. Our whole ethos is ‘I quit what does not serve me’, and I think the main thing that does not serve us is having fear.”

Despite their devotion to courage, they’re only human, and mental health doesn’t discriminate. “I struggle with anxiety, so it’s not like you can just shut that off and it’s gone forever,” admits Danielle. “Sometimes I get in my head about how I present myself to the world, even in very niche or small social interactions,” she pauses for a moment, “but I can’t live my life just always being in my head and worrying if people are gonna think a certain way about me.” This relatable fear is addressed on ‘Everybody’s trying to figure mme out’ - one of HAIM’s most exposed songs yet. “You think you’re going to die, but you’re not going to die,” Danielle repeats on the song. “I’ve just used it as a mantra for myself,” she explains. There’s these moments where you’re like, ‘fuck, how am I gonna get through this?’” Alana relates: “Like when you’re having a panic attack and you’re reminding yourself ‘this will pass and I’m not gonna die from this. I just need to take a second and come into my own’.”

But how have they got to this point? Alana, who refers to herself a “classic overthinker” admits she relies on her siblings to abate her worries. “It’s a group effort, and I think that you really need good people around you to not have that fear, to not overthink. Right before I go to bed, I’ll call one of my sisters and literally trauma dump - then I feel better, but I’ll give my trauma to them,” she laughs a little self-consciously, before gathering her thoughts. “I’m really lucky - it’s really nice to have two siblings that allow me to do that. They’ll constantly remind me, ‘don’t have fear, don’t overthink, just keep the vibes up, keep it going - it’s single summer!’”

‘I quit’ is out 20th June via Polydor. 

Tags: Cover Features, Features, From The Magazine, HAIM, June 2025