Born and raised in California's San Fernando Valley, the Haim sisters were told early on that they'd never be successful as an indy rock band. They'd never be offered a recording contract. They'd never sell out a concert venue. They'd never headline a festival.
Haim has done all three and more: They opened for Taylor Swift during the U.S. leg of her record- breaking “Eras” tour. Haim released its first album, “Days are Gone,” 10 years ago next Wednesday.
At a very young age, the three Haim sisters were proficient at playing rock instruments. They began playing in a cover band fronted by their parents in 2000, when Este was 14, Danielle was 11 and Alana was only 9 years old.
In 2004, Este and Danielle joined the Valli Girls, which recorded a number of songs — one of which appeared on the soundtrack album for “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”
Three years later, the girls decided to form their own band. The first public performance as a trio was at a Jewish deli in Hollywood. The girls were paid in matzah ball soup.
Danielle was invited to work with Jenny Lewis, the Strokes and CeeLo Green. She decided to stick with her sisters and their band, Haim (pronounced HIGH-am, which means “life” in Hebrew).
From left to right: Este Haim (Bass, vocals), Alana Haim (Guitar, keyboards, vocals), Daniella Haim (Lead vocals, guitar, drums)
Polydor Records
Along the way the sisters who faced, in their early days, what they said was a wall of resistance by the recording industry, found success. A well-received independent label EP release and a series of shows at the 2012 South by Southwest festival led to a contract from Polydor Records.
Haim released their first album in 2013 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. They've been known to invite college students to their pre-show sound checks to hold question-and-answer sessions about the music business and their career.
In 2015, Taylor Swift invited Haim to open for a handful of her shows in major U.S. cities. She then asked them to collaborate on “No Body, No Crime” for her 2020 “Evermore” album. The single would peak at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 2 on the country chart. Haim went on to open for Swift's “Eras” tour this summer.
In the meantime, Haim has released two more albums. They released a single in July — “Home” — from the soundtrack of the “Barbie” movie and say they are working on another album.
Peak On The Billboard 200 Album Chart
Released: Sept. 27, 2013
#6
Haim's debut album sold 37,005 copies in the U.K. in its first week of release, debuting at No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart. It would eventually sell more than 350,000 copies, reaching platinum status there. In the U.S., “Days Are Gone” sold 26,000 copies its first week and debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It would peak at No. 2 on album charts in Australia and Scotland and on Billboards Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts.
Released: July 7, 2017
#7
The trio spent two years touring in support of “Days Are Gone” and also contributed songs for the soundtrack albums for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1” and “The Divergent Series: Insurgent.” Their second album sold 26,000 albums in its first week of release in the U.S., and sold another 6,000 digital copies to debut on the Billboard 200 at No. 7. It sold 18,319 copies in its first week in the U.K., debuting at No. 2.
Released: June 26, 2020
#13
The pandemic pushed back the release of Haim's third album several months and cut short another concert tour. The cover of the album — and one of their music videos — was shot at the same Jewish deli where the band got its start 13 years before. “Women in Music Pt. III” debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. album chart — their third Top 3 album there — and at No. 13 in the U.S. and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. “The Steps” single was also nominated for Best Rock Performance.
This edition of Further Review was adapted for the web by Zak Curley.
