Haim - Falling - Days Are Gone

The thought of a band made up of family members used to fill me with a sickening sense of worry; visions of the Osmonds, the Von Trapps and the Cheeky Girls flooding my brain. But then I remember the coolness of Kings of Leon, the cutesie Jackson 5 and Irish group The Corrs (yeah I went there).

So it was better for this band that I heard the song before I heard who it was by and that they were sisters. Obviously I wouldn't have been so silly as to reject it based on the fact that they're related, but at least I went into it with a clear mind.

Haim (like the Corrs, Jackson 5 and Hanson) are named after themselves; Haim being their collective surname. (According to Wikipedia, the name Haim rhymes with rhyme. I know you've been wondering too.) These three sisters are from a musical, LA-based family and grew up listening to 70's and 80's music, which kind of explains the band's musical style.

Courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaredeberhardt/6886865398/in/photostream/

My first thought when listening to this song was how much Danielle Haim's vocals remind me of Amy Grant, who found fame in the (yeah, you guessed it) 80's. She has a really husky, velvety kind of voice. This was my favourite track of Amy Grant's, entitled "Sure Enough", you should find the Spotify link there where it says "this was". 

So we already know they're influenced by the 70's and 80's. This really comes through as soon as you even hear the first bar of the song. It's especially emphasised by the bass. I'm not sure what it's called, but it's a very distinctive sound, something that players do with it to make it sound this way. Also adopted by French DJ's Justice and Madeon.

Danielle's vocals are very punchy, almost like she's performing live: 

"I give a little into the moment 

Like I’m standing at the edge (I know)

But no ones gonna turn me around
Just one more step, I could let go

Oh and in the middle, I hear the voices
And they’re calling for me now
But nothing’s gonna wake me now
Cause I’m a slave to the sound"

The next bit is all harmonised by (presumably) another of the sisters. There's a really great rhythm in the vocals, so this combined with awesome harmonies is just really appealing to me. I'm pretty sure there's some drum machine somewhere in there as well:

"And they’re calling,
Don’t stop, no, I’ll never give up
And I’ll never look back, just hold your head up
And if it gets rough, it’s time to get rough

They keep saying:
Don’t stop, no one’s ever enough
I’ll never look back, never give up
And if it gets rough, it’s time to get rough

But now I'm falling"

Over the next few bars they sing the word "Falling" repeatedly, with a panning effect on the earphones, which makes it sound as though they're coming from everywhere around you, an aural 3D effect. This last part felt as though it was going somewhere, being built up, but the "Falling" bit kind of diffuses it. So then we go back to the verse:

"I look up and down, 

And I can feel the eyes, they’re watching us so closely oh
I’m trying not to make a sound
Cause I’ll be found out somehow"

There is some great rhythm and musical techniques in the vocals here, it's really interesting. We're then back to the "Don’t stop, no, I’ll never give up/And I’ll never look up, just hold your head up" bit of the song. We are then introduced to another part, which happens to be my favourite:

"Step into the fire feeling higher than the truth (I’m falling)
I can feel the heat but I’m not burning (But now I’m falling)
Fear and desire, feel the ? (I’m falling)
Feels like I’m falling, yeah
I can hear them calling for me"

I just think it's so catchy!!! There seems to be some uncertainty about the lyrics for that part, so I'll see if I can uncover the correct ones somewhere. The harmonies give it a beautiful edge as well. Lot of 8's synths in here too. This is played through twice, and then we've got the "Falling" panning bit again, only this time with an ALMOST guitar solo. It looked as though it was going that way, but then didn't quite go for it.

We then have a kind of middle 8 where they sing "Falling" over and over again, with a bit more accompaniment underneath than we had before. Then back to the chorus: "Into the fire feeling higher than the truth/I can feel the heat but I'm not burning". Her vocals are really punchy and defiant, but the melody really isn't. It's an odd combination but it totally works. The beat and the rhythm in this song is I think what has completely hooked me onto it.

At the end of the song, the instrumentation and accompaniment is all the same, but this time they sing:

"Never look up, never give up

Never look up, never give up
Never look up, never give up
I’ll never give up
I’ll never give up"

This is the same for 8 bars. For the next 8 bars, they sing it again, but the song winds down and eliminates the drums, and then the last 8 bars is almost a capella with this little guitar riff drifting through.

I am really struck by how rhythm controls this song rather than what I guess I am used to, which is for the melody to be more prominent for me personally. Anyway, I really loved this song, I hope you do too.

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