Written by Devon “The Other Long-Lost Haim Sister” Mitchell
In case you didn’t know, HAIM, the iconic sister indie rock/pop trio, released a version of their song “Gasoline” featuring Taylor Swift (the long-lost fourth Haim sister) last week. So maybe you don’t know who Este, Danielle and Alana Haim are; they may not be as “iconic” as I say they are. However, you are truly missing out if you have not been listening to the sisters, especially after their last album release, “Women in Music Part III.”
Obviously, I love HAIM. Not only is their music totally rock & roll, but their strong female presence in the music industry is inspiring. The sisters embrace both their feminine and masculine energies (not in a hippie dippy zodiac kinda way) in their music and their overall style and aesthetic. While they receive hate and criticism for the faces they make while playing, going braless on stage, their voices and anything else one can imagine women are critiqued over, HAIM embraces the negativity, turning it into positivity and fuel to prove people wrong. To summarize, HAIM is all about female empowerment and strong, independent women, especially in an industry lorded over by men.
When I heard HAIM was collaborating with Taylor Swift once again (after they worked on the song “no body, no crime” on T-Swizzle’s most recent album), I was thrilled. I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Taylor, but over the past couple of years I’ve come to really respect her for always speaking up for herself and others. Additionally, she has become one of the most prominent female voices in music, being inspiringly unapologetic for her successes. This collaboration meant four badass women in music were working together to produce art. The Rosie the Riveter inside of me jumped for joy at the thought.
Besides the feminism being portrayed in this collaboration, the diversity of the song compared to T-Swizzle’s normal stuff was immaculate. When she first came in with the “I GET SAD” I barely even recognized her voice! The HAIM sisters typically dabble in “70s rock, 80s synth pop, and R&B from the 90s” (Spotify), whereas Swift has done country rock, pop and folksy pop, so you could say it was a little different to what she’s used to. Despite the differences in genres, the crossover was exciting and pleasing to the ear.
If my high praises haven’t been enough for you to stop what you’re doing and listen to the collab, I don’t know what else I can say. While you’re at it, you might as well just listen to HAIM’s entire discography — you won’t be disappointed.
