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How HAIM made soft rock chic again
Even at its commercial zenith, soft rock was never cutting edge, and seldom seen as cool. So how did HAIM make soft rock chic again?
There was a time when soft rock reigned supreme. Fleetwood Mac’s lauded, drama-laden opus Rumours felt ubiquitous throughout the latter part of the 70s, on the radio and in the charts, as well as taking pride of place in record collections on both sides of the Atlantic. Likewise, ever-presents of the era in the Eagles, Elton John, Chicago, Pat Benatar, America, Heart, and Air Supply paved the way for the likes of Bryan Adams, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Journey, and Toto to dominate proceedings the following decade too. Rock musicians (often male) tapped into their sentimental sides, and in turn took the genre to its commercial zenith.
But throughout subsequent decades, the very mention of the perennially inoffensive sub-genre became offensive to anyone who listened to anything beyond adult contemporary radio stations.
Of course, the hallmarks of soft rock have been rehashed by countless artists since – ear-catching melodies, polished production, and lovelorn lyricism that most people can relate to. Balladeers like Lewis Capaldi or Snow Patrol, for example, could be regarded as the contemporary embodyment of soft rock. There was chart success to be had drawing influence from the sub-genre. But soft rock was never cutting edge, or rarely seen as cool.
So how did HAIM go about making soft rock chic again?
Firstly, it’d be wrong to suggest that HAIM – made up of sisters Alana, Danielle, and Este Haim – were entirely derivative of a bygone music form. Especially since it was largely spearheaded by men and their emotions. But, from their rapturously plucky 2013 debut Days Gone By right up to the most recent full-length I quit, they’ve harnessed the easy breezy sun-hued sense of California that plops you in the backseat of a convertible cruising down Santa Monica Boulevard every time a tune of theirs ripples through the airwaves. HAIM re-energised soft rock in their own guise by infusing the rhythmic sturdiness and sauntering catchiness of R&B, all funky basslines and finger-snapping.
Encouraged to learn instruments from a young age by their parents – their dad was a drummer and their mum won a televised singing contest before they were born – the HAIM family formed the band Rockinhaim. The classic rock and Americana records in their parent’s collection became their musical DNA. Though, as young sisters growing up in the 90s, the R&B and pop songs that proliferated the radio would no doubt make an impression – even now, it’s easy to envisage HAIM formulating dance routines together in their teenage bedrooms.
Sonically, HAIM were a breath of fresh air. A digitally rebooted reimagining of the soft rock format. The rabid response to their debut single ‘Forever’ in 2012 saw their record label rush out the trio’s debut album Days Are Gone (the title nods to the hurried process). But the infectiousness of their personalities also resonated.
Este, Danielle and Alana’s irreverent nature was in stark contrast to the po-faced origins of the soft rock bands that came before them. They’re outlandishly entertaining in interviews. They dance gleefully together on stage. Este leaned into her “bass face” whilst performing, which became such a phenomenon that it spawned countless memes and fan accounts. Alana has forayed into acting in recent years, having befriended bonafide fan Paul Thomas Anderson who directed the music videos for ‘Lost Track’, ‘Summer Girl’, ‘Now I’m In It’, ‘Right Now’, ‘Little Of Your Love’, and ‘Man From The Magazine’. For the I quit marketing campaign, HAIM re-enacted paparazzi photos of celebrity couples from yesteryear, positioning themselves and their music alongside the ‘internet’s favourite new boyfriends’.
For all the band’s endearing playfulness, they’re in possession of serious musical chops. Yet, they’ve seldom been taken seriously by the music industry at large. It’s not a coincidence – shock horror – that those who have questioned their abilities are mostly male.
Throughout their career, HAIM have consistently garnered critical praise. Opinions towards poppier sounds have softened and certainly warmed in the years since they came into being – nowadays the historically snobby NME covers almost exclusively pop or pop-adjacent musicians, but there was once a time when flattering commercially-minded artists was considered a cardinal sin by the magazine. A signifier of the shift away from male dominion in music journalism, probably. Still, four and five star reviews didn’t necessarily sway the general consensus in their favour.
Portishead’s Geoff Barrow tweeted frantically about their rise, on several occasions. “Hiam [sic] sound like Shania Twain… When did that become a good thing?”. “Haim are not woman! they are robots sent here from the CIA/Time Warner lab to fill a playlist gap where decent music could be”. “Why the fuk are haim pretending their rise to fame was organic? Unless massive marketing spends are now considered organic nowadays?” etc.
Other industry professionals might’ve been more insidious with their misogyny. But HAIM have also had keyboard warriors to contend with.
Whilst they certainly won’t be the last female band to be mired in the ‘industry plant’ debate – see The Last Dinner Party and Wet Leg – it’s been a long, boring slog for over a decade now continually refuting such accusations.
HAIM did have industry links before they hit the ground running, due to Danielle and Este’s involvement in the all-female group the Valli Girls who were signed to Columbia Records. However, Danielle then went on to tour as a guitarist with Julian Casablancas, Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and CeeLo Green, leaving a promising career as a session musician behind to fully pursue HAIM before Polydor Records snapped them up after SXSW in 2012. As recently as 2023, Este fiercely responded to a comment on the band performing live which questioned whether or not they were playing their instruments. She elaborated in an Instagram story soon after saying: “I’m so used to seeing this shit on every f*cking video of us playing ever, but I’m so over it. Don’t ever say we don’t play our f*cking instruments.”
Understandably, they’re sick of it. But based on their fourth and most recent album, their disposition couldn’t be sunnier.
I quit was an album of joyful defiance; a deafening “meh” to messy relationships and monotonous chauvinism. When asked to explain the album’s title in an interview with GQ, Este put succinctly: “I’m done giving a f*ck”. There’s nothing soft about that.
HAIM bring the I quit tour to UK stages until the end of October. Find tickets here
