Chances are you're just as obsessed with the Haim sisters as I am. Unacquainted with the girls the whole world is talking about RN? Allow me to brief you. This three-piece sister act from the valleys of Los Angeles began their rock-n-roll career touring local delis with their parents, and now stand hailed as the greatest rock band of our time (it’s me, I’m the hailer). I saw them twice this week - first headlining All Points East, and again last night at an intimate 10-year anniversary gig for their debut album, Days are Gone.
At both performances I was moved by the kindness of these girls. During All Points East, they spoke with immense gratitude about how London was the first place to really embrace them. Last night they booked a cosy venue and gave first dibs on tickets to the fans via their website (that’s how I got mine). Alana left the stage to dance with the crowd, and they even closed the show with a special appearance from their mum and dad to reunite the original family band, Rockenhaim.
TikTok content
I’ve listened to Haim on repeat during a difficult few years of my life, and they feel like a soundtrack that tells me I can get through hard things. During my first-ever trip to Los Angeles this spring, I visited their favourite Canters Deli. The owner, Marc Canter, kept me company as I dined alone, told me stories of them from over the years, and recreated their Women in Music album cover with me because it was shot there. Even via third party intervention, their kindness was King.
These three girls are my favourite people in the world right now, but it’s not just me. Louis Vuitton recently unveiled a special collaboration with them as part of their AW23 collections, and film director Paul Thomas Anderson literally wrote the Oscar nominated Licorice Pizza with Alana in mind before he cast her as the star. Stevie Nicks shared a moving testimony after the passing of Christine McVie, noting that the song Hallelujah captured her grief, and they just finished supporting their best pal Taylor Swift on her Eras tour. So why are we all in love with Haim?
Instagram content
To get a taste, I want you to go onto YouTube and fall down a rabbit hole of their interviews. They are so naturally warm and funny, it’s a complete culture shock from the media trained interactions we’re used to seeing from the rich and famous.
Let’s start with Este. Este is the sister I’d most want to party with (views shared, evidently, by the cast of the White Lotus who made TikToks of their fun with her when she joined the family as their Music Consultant). Not only is she a downright scream, but every professional shoot, gig, or photo I’ve seen of her, I can see her diabetes CGM. It might sound small, but we are so used to seeing such airbrushed, overthought, nonsensical standards of grooming these days, it feels completely liberating. Why on earth wouldn’t her diabetes CGM be on show, she literally wears it to manage her health? And yet in all honesty, I can’t say I’ve seen anyone else with anything like it. It seems remiss not to mention her bass face, an iconic component to every Haim performance.
TikTok content
Now for Alana. When Licorice Pizza came out, she did a TV interview with Seth Meyers and was laughing that orthodontists kept sliding into her DMs with offers to straighten her ‘snaggle tooth’. She’s laughing saying all of this and gesturing the camera to come closer to see her teeth, insisting she loves them the way they are. She’s right, why the hell would she need to change her teeth? Alana makes me realise that we’re kind of obsessed with symmetry today. Her teeth aren’t 100% symmetrical, yet she’s so striking and beautiful. She makes me feel less conscious of the things about *me* that aren’t symmetrical (how much time do you have?)
TikTok content
And then, of course, there’s Danielle. I found an entire YouTube montage dedicated to clips of the girls accidentally talking over Danielle. Despite being the lead singer, part of Danielle’s allure is that she is a little quieter than the others, something they even joked about when they spoke at the show last night. Don’t let this fool you; she’s ravenously open, having written the likes of ‘I Know Alone’ to articulate her post-tour depression, one of the songs that fans tell them they connect to the most. I think I have a lot of Danielle in me - I might not be the brashest person at the table, but I’m taking it all in. She feels like the proof I need that you don’t need to be the loudest to be powerful, something that it’s nice to be reminded of when you work in an industry as competitive as mine.
These girls, to me, are actual role models. I’m a little jaded by this age of being famous for being famous. I want to hear stories about families like theirs, starting from the ground up, persevering, working hard and achieving their dreams. I’ll happily pay my money to see a concert (or two in one week) where they play all their own instruments and sing the words of the songs they’ve written themselves. Yes, I want to sing Mustang Sally with your mum while your dad plays drums! It’s warming to bask in their celebration of all things family. They feel like an antidote to the rest of the world right now, whether I’m seeing yet another corrupt politician come out on top or even just seeing an influencer popping up like your IG bestie when I know first hand they have no manners in real life.
Haim really inspire me to lighten up a little. Este was too hot at the show last night, so she removed her jumper (they all wore their Days are Gone album cover outfits) and made a makeshift boob tube. Here is a girl about to perform a 90 minute set in a sweltering, sweaty room to a crowd of iPhones ready to document her every move. Her jumper is vaguely looped behind her back, no bra in sight and no shits given. Can you imagine being that carefree? I want to be more Este.
TikTok content
This is me, the same person that was moaning to you a few weeks ago about being ghosted, totally flat and deflated. Now I’m sat in my gloriously sweaty Alana t-shirt, writing this feature at 1am on the last train from London to Birmingham because the girls have inspired me so much. These are the kind of role models we need in our lives, and I’m so glad to have these girls in mine.
They hinted to Lauren Laverne this week that we can expect a new album soon, so hold onto your hats, the golden age of Haim is only just beginning.
