Women in Music, Pt. III

Haim take us through a dark place and they do it frankly. But they never let the momentum dip. And they never lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel.

Women In Music Part III just hits it from top to bottom. It is the album in which Haim at last fulfil their potential, a summery California pop rock treat in which the blissful ambience is backed up with emotional grit and substance.

By breaking from what the world might expect from them and letting themselves do whatever the hell they want, they have produced a record that’s experimental, soothing and vulnerable; it’s a thing of great beauty.

Sprawling and intimate, breezy and affecting, Women in Music Pt. III is a low-key triumph.

Succeeds through the sheer brilliance of its songwriting and the trio’s palpable love of their craft. While perfectly capturing the zeitgeist, HAIM carry the passion, creativity and joy to also cement ‘Women In Music Pt. III’ as a timeless classic.

This album is their strongest, longest collection of songs to date, and it is enormous, but the HAIM sisters have tamed that ambition into something effortless.

It’s Haim as we haven’t quite heard them before: not just eminently proficient musicians, entertainers, and “women in music,” but full of flaws and contradictions, becoming something much greater.

By further broadening their scope of sound, HAIM create a wide window for listeners to find something of resonance within Women in Music Pt. III.

Where WIMPIII’s songs don’t cleave as closely to any of the album’s declared narratives, there is still much of interest going on.

Our flaws are what make us more experienced, relatable individuals, so by learning to embrace the power in their weakest points, HAIM have created their best work to date.

Women in Music Pt. III is by no means perfect, but its strengths assuredly outweigh the weaknesses. Haim feel completely in the moment here, and are working stronger than ever as a unit.

Women in Music Pt. III flips between the band's least and most processed work to date. Both sides yield highlights. ... It's as multifaceted as the music it encapsulates and the women who made it.

This new album shows that they are capable of not only subverting the expectations of the audience, but subverting expectations of the music world in general.

This newfound looseness and fluidity suits them. Best believe that Haim still has chops and a bar band’s encyclopedic knowledge of rock riffs, but on its third album it’s finally learned how to carry those things lightly enough to move with its own particular stride.

We’re graced with upbeat music, the antidote for the negativity that surrounds us. They speak out and speak up about the wrongs that surround them, like the patriarchal limitations placed on them ('Man In The Magazine'), but also explore the joy of the everyday ('Hallelujah').

We find all sorts of intriguing experiments. [Aug 2020, p.30]

They've upped their game. [Jun 2020, p.87]

This zeitgeist-friendly genre-hopping proves the trio are moving with the times, but it's satisfying to note that when they return to their starkly simple, powerful melodic trademark sound on closer Hallelujah, Haim remain in a league of their own. [Jun 2020, p.94]

The album is an immediate gem in their still-expanding catalog; it’s a resonant reflection on pain, depression, love and home that forsakes some of their big, drum-heavy pop leanings for a smoother, more inward experience.

WIMPIII culminates in a kind of languidness which shows that sometimes you have to let the songs lead you, rather than coercing them into something they shouldn’t be. There’s a coherence that exudes from the sparsity in the songs, and they’re never left feeling empty.

Overall, WIMPEE is an easy album to love, which, more than anything else, shows the trio's natural chemistry as musicians. ... Having chosen to maintain an upbeat, positive outlook to outweigh all the despair does big favors to the band—featuring a sparkling production that fits many, many moods—though it makes one wonder what could've been had they let us in just a little bit more.