Strange flourishes abound: pitch-shifted vocals all across the album the blissfully perplexing likeness of a horseвЂ™s nay on вЂњ Want You BackвЂќ the monotone mantra of вЂњItвЂ™s obvious/Be honestвЂќ on вЂњNothingвЂ™s Wrong,вЂќ which nearly recalls UK post-punk band Au PairsвЂ™ similarly robotic refrain. вЂњYou kept me crying for so long that my tears have dried.вЂќДЄs ever, HaimвЂ™s dynamic songs are tricked out with plenty of studio magic, echoes, and shimmer Ariel Rechtshaid returns to produce (вЂњour fearless leader,вЂќ the credits read) along with touches from Rostam Batmanglij (вЂњour biggest cheerleaderвЂќ). вЂњIf you want me, IвЂ™m waiting for you,вЂќ Danielle sings. And вЂњKept Me CryingвЂќ-with its story of willfully, desperately hanging on the telephone for an ex-lover who hardly deserves it-yearns so irreducibly and with such a raw current of sadness that you could picture the Shangri-Las singing it, or a rhinestone cowgirl.

ThereвЂ™s an unmistakable, crisply-strummed nod to George MichaelвЂ™s вЂњFaithвЂќ on вЂњReady for You.вЂќ вЂњ Little of Your LoveвЂќ recalls the swaggering bubblegum notes of their former tour-mate, Swift. Though none of the sisters sit behind a kit at shows, and only Danielle handles drums in the studio, they were all drummers first, and HaimвЂ™s latticed arrangements and heavily percussive melodies make their music fly. Haim let in some new styles on Something to Tell You, but they crucially remain masters of rhythm. Time collapses HaimвЂ™s music is the distinct result of a band schooled by their parents on Motown and funk while TLC was on Top 40, fronted by Danielle, whose formative experiences included sneaking out to Rilo Kiley gigs. No other rock band in popular music (an anomalous statement already) has mixed styles so seamlessly-rattling and gliding from one hook to another-so as to garner a remix from Giorgio Moroder, a feature from A$AP Ferg, an onstage jam with Jenny Lewis, and an opening tour slot for Taylor Swift. But thereвЂ™s still nothing like Haim around. Something to Tell You-released exactly 10 years on from HaimвЂ™s first show together beyond their oldies family cover band Rockenhaim-does not radically depart from their taut and gleaming spark of a debut, 2013вЂ™s Days Are Gone.

Collaborating with the trio recently, Bobby Gillespie called Haim вЂњgospel singersвЂќ whose internal logic and virtuosic harmonizing comes from вЂњthis celestial telepathic thing.вЂќ More to the point, this summit-a blessing from the high priestess of pop-rock heartbreak-was a testament to just how powerful HaimвЂ™s reverence of 1970s and вЂ™80s soft-rock has become, proof that Haim are deeply admired within musicвЂ™s pantheon and ever-closer to dominating the world at large. The glossy and aching Something to Tell You-full of longing, betrayal, and the torment of feelings left unsaid-is at once poised and emo enough to suggest that Haim took NicksвЂ™ advice, but drew from both sides of the diary.

Haim days are gone cd