Album Review: Haim – Something To Tell You (2017 LP)

More than four years in the making, Haim have returned from the world of playing festivals and obsessive touring to create Something To Tell You. On Something To Tell You they haven’t recreated the wheel, but have more than ably changed the manual on how use said wheel, or in this case, album.

Haim have spoken for a long time about their love of Fleetwood Mac, and it’s pretty evident from the get-go that Fleetwood Mac continue to play a massive influence here. “Nothing’s Wrong” could have easily appeared on Rumours or at the very least been written by Fleetwood Mac. A little similar in sound to debut album track “Honey & I”, if you want to hear a near bulletproof pop song in 2017, “Nothing’s Wrong” is your answer.

Upon hearing lead single “Want You Back” a couple months ago, all I could think was ‘Yep, it’s sounds very Haim-y.’ And that’s the thing about Haim; they have a very distinct sound. This sound continues on the supremely fun “Little Of Your Love”. Originally written for the Amy Schumer film Trainwreck, I’m glad the song wasn’t wasted on a soundtrack. It’s one of the stand out tracks on Something To Tell You.

“Ready For You” is probably the best track on the album, as the harmonies of the three Haim sisters come to the front. The closing minute of “Ready For You” is peak Haim. The titular “Something To Tell You” has a near R&B feel to it, as the band returns a little more to the sound from their debut album. “You Never Knew” has a late 1990’s Shania Twain sound to it, which is a great thing if you ask me.

It becomes pretty obvious that the album has been split in two parts the further you progress into the listen. Where the first half is mightily upbeat and pretty joyous, the closing tracks are a little more serious in nature, and perhaps a little more heartfelt. I’m not sure which sister wrote “Kept Me Crying”, but you could tell they weren’t in the most stable relationship when they wrote it. Obviously a regular recipient of the needy late night ‘You up?’ texts, the closing minute of “Kept Me Crying” is the most empowering of the album, as Danielle Haim’s guitar work comes to fruition.

The strings on “Found It In Silence” is a masterstroke, as the harmonies of the three main band members shines again. Now, if the album had finished here, it would have been near perfect. Unfortunately, the last couple tracks of the album are a little tedious and don’t really seem to fit in with the rest of the tracks. “Walking Away” is a bit of a nothing track, while I’m sure “Right Now” would be good enough to listen to in the right frame of mind.

Something To Tell You is a fine second record for a band that know their market and sound. Falling just short of perfection, it’s clear that Haim know a thing or two about writing classic pop songs. And while they haven’t reinvented the wheel here, it’s pretty obvious that they didn’t have to.

Review Score: 8.3 out of 10.

Something To Tell You
is out now.

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