HAIM’s fourth studio album, appropriately titled I quit, reads somewhat as a glamorous exorcism—of lovers, of old friends, of being taken too seriously. For over a decade, the trio balanced soft-sock sincerity with California-cool, often polished to the point of restraint. But on this record, newly unhinged and freshly single front-woman (producer and ex-boyfriend Ariel Rechtshaid is notably absent) Danielle Haim purrs Valley-girl revenge camouflaged in avant-pop.
The strength of I quit is structural: it leans into the individual skill sets of each HAIM sister, resulting in a record that feels precision-engineered but never cold. Danielle’s vocals guide much of this album, her familiar coo now laced with a wry edge. Nowhere is this more cutting—or more candid—than on the sly, confessional, “Take me back.” However, Alana takes the reins on the unexpected four-on-the-floor pulse of “Spinning,” a track that channels the brooding introspection of Days Are Gone, the group’s debut. And, rounding out the trio, Este takes center stage on “Blood on the street,” a smoky, midtempo dive-bar cut where all three sisters come together to raise a glass to the past—and toast whatever’s next.
If I quit feels looser, wilder, more emotionally maximalist than anything HAIM has done before, it’s because it is—and proudly so. Gone is the polish that once threatened to sand down their weird edges. In its place: a new kind of precision, one that embraces instinct and imperfection. There are still glimmers of their earlier gloss, but it’s now filtered through what can only be described as Pinterest-ready melancholy that makes heartbreak feel cinematic. I quit is an album made for driving too fast with the windows down, for sending one last text you maybe shouldn’t, for dancing barefoot on someone’s ex’s lawn. It’s a declaration not just of romantic closure, but of creative release—and HAIM sound freer than ever.