HAIM’s Women in Music Pt. III wasn’t just another album—it was their “we do whatever the hell we want now” moment. Gone was the pressure of the sophomore slump, replaced by a looseness that had them dropping Summer Girl two weeks after writing it, just because they could. “Streaming lets you do that,” they shrugged. Must be nice.
This time, they leaned into brutal honesty. Now I’m In It sounds like a breezy rock jam until you realize it’s about depression. “Writing is like fortune-telling,” Danielle admitted. “You don’t always realize what you’re dealing with until it’s in a song.”
Hallelujah was their tearjerker moment, a song about sisterhood so raw Este could barely get through her verse without crying. “We wrote separately, then put it together, and somehow it just worked,” they said, as if they weren’t one of the most in-sync bands out there.
Then there’s Summer Girl, which practically dares you to compare it to Walk on the Wild Side. “Wasn’t intentional at first, but once we heard it, we leaned in,” they admitted. Lou Reed’s estate got a songwriting credit. Other subtle lifts? Now I’m In It has a Savage Garden shimmer, Hallelujah recalls Blues Run the Game, and the whole album is one big masterclass in tasteful reference points.
Sonically, they aimed for “in the room” energy, which meant throwing up a ridiculous number of room mics and singing in bathrooms for “vibe.” The result? A record that sounds alive and spontaneous, despite being meticulously crafted to feel that way.
Their partnership with Paul Thomas Anderson continues because, well, why wouldn’t it? “We kneel at the temple of PTA,” they joked. But hey, if you can get one of the greatest living directors to film your music videos, you do it.
At the heart of it, Women in Music Pt. III was about HAIM doing things on their own terms. No pressure, no overthinking, just instincts. “We just wanted to make the music we love,” they said. And they did—while reminding everyone else why they’re still untouchable.
Listen to the interview above and then check out their 2013 interview below.
