Days Are Gone is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Haim. It was released on September 27, 2013, by Polydor Records. The album spawned six singles: "Forever", "Don't Save Me", "Falling", "The Wire", "If I Could Change Your Mind" and "My Song 5".

The album was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far by Pitchfork in August 2014.

Background

The three girls grew up in the San Fernando Valley, listening to the 1970s classic rock and Americana records of their music-loving parents. While they were still at school their parents formed a family band called Rockinhaim to play cover versions at local charity fairs, with Israeli-born father Mordechai ("Moti") on drums and mother Donna on guitar. Danielle and Este were members of The Valli Girls, an all-girl group "inspired by Pat Benatar, Blondie, Gwen Stefani, The Pretenders, and Queen" from Southern California that was signed to Columbia Records / Sony Records and had a notable appearance on 2005 tween film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' soundtrack. Their song "Valli Nation" by the "SoCal teen prodigies" appears on the 2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards soundtrack "alongside such pop superstars as Avril Lavigne, Alicia Keys, Simple Plan, (and) Good Charlotte."

As they grew older, the girls became more interested in incorporating pop and contemporary R&B into their music. In 2006 they decided to form their own band. For the next five years, Haim played local venues, but did not take things further as all three sisters were busy with other projects. Este was studying at UCLA and graduated in 2010 with a degree in Ethnomusicology, completed in just two years instead of the normal five. Upon graduating from high school Danielle was asked to play drums for the opening act on one of Jenny Lewis's tours, which led to Lewis asking Danielle to be her guitarist on the following tour. The Strokes' singer Julian Casablancas came to see one of Lewis's shows on that tour, and he in turn asked Danielle to play guitar and percussion on his own solo tour. She has also toured as part of Scarlet Fever, the all-female backing band for CeeLo Green. It was after Danielle had played with other artists and Este had graduated that the sisters decided that they wanted pursue their career as Haim more seriously. Youngest sister Alana spent one year in college before dropping out to join the band with her sisters.

Having played shows supporting artists such as Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, The Henry Clay People and Kesha, Haim's first release was a three song EP titled Forever which was made available on February 10, 2012 as a free download on their website for a brief period. The EP received a lot of attention from the music press and the general public, and following a successful gig at the South by Southwest festival in March 2012 Haim signed a deal with Polydor Records in the UK in June 2012. In July 2012 independent record label National Anthem released the Forever EP on 10" vinyl, containing the original three songs along with a fourth track, a remix of "Forever" by Dan Lissvik. All songs on the Forever EP were included on Days Are Gone, except for "Better Off". Following dates supporting Mumford & Sons on their "Gentlemen of the Road" tour in the US in August 2012, Haim made their debut tour of the UK in November 2012 and then supported Florence and the Machine on their UK and Ireland tour in December 2012.

Track listing

No.

Title

Writer(s)

Producer(s)

Length

1.

"Falling"

Este Haim Danielle Haim Alana Haim Morgan Nagler Ariel Rechtshaid D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

4:17

2.

"Forever"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Ludwig Göransson D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim Rechtshaid

4:05

3.

"The Wire"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Rechtshaid D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

4:05

4.

"If I Could Change Your Mind"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim James Ford Ford D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

3:50

5.

"Honey & I"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Rechtshaid D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

4:11

6.

"Don't Save Me"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Ford D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

3:51

7.

"Days Are Gone"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Jessie Ware Kid Harpoon Rechtshaid D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

3:33

8.

"My Song 5"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Rechtshaid Rechtshaid D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

3:53

9.

"Go Slow"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Göransson D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim Rechtshaid

4:17

10.

"Let Me Go"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Rechtshaid D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

4:08

11.

"Running If You Call My Name"

E. Haim D. Haim A. Haim Rechtshaid Rechtshaid D. Haim A. Haim E. Haim

4:04

Total length:

44:14