Haim @ Constellations Festival, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 10/11/12 
Singing through gritted teeth, lips curling into a snarl every other line, thrashing her Joey Ramone hair – to watch Danielle Haim perform without hearing the music, you’d think Haim were an all-girl Grunge revival band. Yet, this unlikely sounding “nu-folk-meets-nineties-R&B” group are capable of shifting across a spectrum of styles with ease. Haim are a girls-with-guitars band of three sisters from L.A. that can only be described as ‘effortlessly cool’. As much as that sounds like lazily attaching an over-used cliché to them, the word ‘effortless’ is key when describing their live show. You get the sense that whether they were playing a sell-out stadium tour or jamming it out for kicks in a garage, they’d be giving the same performance.
This honest, unchoreographed performance was the antithesis to St. Lou Lou, third on the bill following Cheatahs’ cancellation. St. Lou Lou, on paper, press all the same buttons as Haim – twin sisters, peddling dreamy 80s synth pop lifted straight from the Drive soundtrack. Think Grimes on downers, or Florence Welch, with the Machine replaced by Gary Numan. However, where St. Lou Lou were oh-so-cool with their audience, dressed head to toe in black, dancing in step, Haim chatted up the punters, wore ripped jeans and vests, and certainly didn’t practice any dance moves. Constellations Festival offered a few more hotly anticipated bands such as Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and Kindness, but for me, the only other moment of excitement during the evening was Hooded Fang, whose nods to Krautrock psychedelia and nihilistic Seattle grunge provided a raucous alternative to the safe musical landscape of the two headliners.
Haim’s set started with ‘Better Off’, a minimal, percussion-led slow-burner of a track that starts with the flawless vocal harmonies that are so common in sibling-led bands. Danielle Haim’s percussive, half-spoken vocal style bounces off the fragmented drumming, and works against her sister’s more poppy refrains. The undeniable musical talent of the band became obvious from the outset – the sisters’ experience as a successful covers band with their parents has obviously carried over into this more contemporary venture. More than a few squealing solos and rapid bass licks were present throughout the set, with their instrumental prowess in full flow during a frankly filthy Fleetwood Mac cover. The restrained intensity that Danielle had been nurturing throughout the set seemed to boil over at this point, taking on full Rock Goddess status for a glorious few minutes.
‘Forever’, the title track from their first EP, had a more unhinged feel to the recorded version. Danielle’s dynamic singing style made some of her lyrics indecipherable, with a word or phrase jumping out every other line. However, her performance did most of the talking, with a pained look on her face during the softer breakdown as she sang ‘go get out, get out of my memory’, reminiscent of Cat Power’s fragile yet powerful performance, that built to a polyphonic warcry, sisters providing vocal backup. Set-closer ‘Let Me Go’ was the perfect way to end a triumphant show that was full of surprises. This slow-burning shuffle showed hints of a big finish throughout, with the girls taking turns to give their drums a good whacking, building to a war-drum finale, with everyone on stage beating out a different rhythm, giving the set an explosive finish.
They’ve been branded ‘Hanson for Hipsters’, but let’s not do them the injustice. Sure, they’ve appeared in fashion blogs, effervescing laid back L.A. style, but after seeing Haim perform side-by-side with the overly style conscious St. Lou Lou, and the uninspiring yet inexplicably zeitgeisty Kindness, the ‘Hipster’ tag seems unfair for a band who are so clearly just there for the music.
If you liked Haim, you’ll love this: Cat Power, Kings of Convenience, Grimes