The Haim sisters don’t seem to follow “The Steps” of a conventional relationship in their robust, yet groovy new song, which they released today (Mar. 3) ahead of their upcoming third studio album Women in Music Pt. III.
The combination of a chorused electric guitar, overdriven lead lines and strummed 12-string acoustic guitar, not to mention Danielle Haim’s drumming technique she demonstrated for fans on Twitter, provides a stirring beat for the angsty anthem about not being the perfect significant other but doing just fine for oneself.
“The Steps,” which was produced by Danielle and the track’s songwriters Ariel Rechsthaid and Rostam Batmanglij, steps up in tempo in comparison to Haim’s previous discography. But the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed music video (which Danielle also assisted with) retains the vigor of the pop rock band’s past clips.
The four-minute video follows each sister’s supposedly sweet morning until they sour every part of their normal routine, from Danielle putting red lipstick directly on her toothpaste-coated mouth to Alana spitting her toothpaste onto the bathroom mirror to Este taking swigs from her mouthwash bottle-turned-flask.
The chorus underlines the Haim sisters’ various acts of rebellion as their imperfectly perfect way of living that doesn’t match their partners’. “Every time I think that I’ve been takin’ the steps/ You end up mad at me for makin’ a mess/ I can’t understand, why you don’t understand me/ Baby/ And every day I wake up and make money for myself/ And though we share a bed it don’t mean that I need your help,” they cry out in the chorus.
Watch “The Steps” music video below.
