Friday 4 October 2013

Haim - Edge


After a successful 2012 where Haim generated word of mouth acclaim through their raw charismatic live shows and shinier than newly polished shoes EP (the song Forever being the glistening gem) they topped the BBC Sound of 2013 poll and the UK Blog Sound of 2013 poll (narrowly beating Chvrches by just a vote or two, but these two bands were way ahead of the chasing pack). Not every blogger loved them though, Drunken Werewolf writing of them at the time the following: “They’re an everybody band, and by proxy they’re a nobody band. Everyone will love them. No one will be sure why, save the fact they’ve been told to by Zane Lowe. I get the feeling they’re destined to follow the path of fellow genre blurrers Warpaint – that of spontaneous combustion followed by dwindling light and a little flourish centred around an Autumn tour, though probably not until 2014 and their album won’t be anywhere near as good.”

Now as one of the co-ordinators of the Blog Sound poll we're beginning to think about the voting for the 2014 long list we can look back at 2013 and suggest that the pollsters got it right with Haim. Right now their debut album Days Are Gone is getting mainly decent reviews (although not everyone likes them - have a look at this one and see what you think) and is currently sitting just behind Justin Timberlake in the UK’s top album sellers. There’s been plenty of talk in the last 48 hours about a ‘chart battle’ – one of those industry and media led concepts that help generate a story and potentially help Haim’s sales a little more, but we're too busy enjoying the album to worry about that.

If you’ve purchased Days Are Gone one song you may not have heard is Edge, a co-write and co-production with Twin Shadow, only present on the UK iTunes bonus edition. With Danielle’s seductive vocals and some Phil Collins In The Air Tonight drum rolls (we don’t care what anyone says – we love that song) bonus is the right way to describe this add-on.

Haim - Edge

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