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It’s not as though Haim can’t write a good break-up song. “Walking Away”, from 2017’s Something to Tell You, is proof of that — a graceful wave backwards to some deservedly ditched ex, sung with style and enough feeling to show that it matters, but not so much emotion as to suggest it will matter for long. Alas, nothing on I Quit matches it.
The fourth album by the sisterly trio from California arrives amid talk of new beginnings. It’s the first not to feature co-production by Ariel Rechtshaid, whose near decade-long relationship with lead singer and guitarist Danielle Haim ended in 2022. Its 15 tracks have been devised by her and her two sisters — bassist Este Haim, guitarist-keyboardist Alana Haim — with a customary blend of breeziness and detail. The music pushes their sound in new directions, but the results don’t quite hit the mark.
Opening track “Gone” has languid vocals about being uncaged and footloose, set to a louche Rolling Stones groove and guitar solo. “The Farm”, in which Danielle sings about turning to her sisters for support, also makes good use of classic-rock comfort food with a Stonesy guitar intro, Neil Young-style harmonica and a piano part reminiscent of The Band.
An album in this retro-mode, looser and more freewheeling than their previous Fleetwood Mac stylism, might have worked well. But the trio mix it up too much. “Relationships” brokers a mismatched union between silky R&B and playground hip-hop chants. The use of a sample from George Michael’s “Freedom! ‘90” in “Gone” is mirrored by another 1990s reference in closing number “Now It’s Time”, with the riff and beat from U2’s “Numb”. The symmetry is neat, but also stifling.
“Seven stages of grief and I don’t know which I’m on,” Este sings on “Cry”, taking over lead vocals. Like her expression of confusion, the album struggles to find its footing. The reiterated focus on break-ups gives the tracks a rather samey aspect, even as the musical arrow spins around the compass. Uncertain whether to convey emotional heaviness or upbeat recovery, I Quit ends up neither sticking nor twisting.
★★☆☆☆
‘I Quit’ is released by Polydor
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