HAIM have shared a timely new single called ‘I Know Alone’ from their upcoming third album Women In Music Pt III, out on 26th June.
Originally slated for release later this summer after it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the band have revealed on Twitter that they have changed those plans in order to bring it out at the end of June. They’ve also said that fans can expect more surprises between now and then.
As of today though, we can all whet our appetites with a new song and video – the fifth preview of ‘WIMPIII’ after ‘Summer Girl’, ‘Hallelujuah’, ‘Now I’m In It’ and ‘The Steps’. If all of these tracks are anything to go by, then the album could potentially be Haim’s most diverse record yet – so far we’ve had sleek pop-rock, a tender guitar-picked ballad, a Lou-Reed inspired bop and a guitar-fuelled banger. Now we can add moody, low-key electronic pop to the mix.
Opening in rather meditative fashion, the track steadily builds up with shuffling beats, layers of ethereal vocals and glitching production to form a sound that flirts on the edges of UK garage. It’s an unexpected combination but one that works brilliantly as they show once again that they’re impossible to predict.
In a statement, Danielle Haim acknowledged that the single has taken on a new meaning since the pandemic. “The first lyric we wrote was ‘I know alone like no one else does,’” she wrote on the band’s Instagram. “This came from feeling like I was in the deepest spiral of being alone and feeling like I felt loneliness deeper than anyone ever had. I remember there were a lot of solo drives with a couple of Diet Cokes in the passengers’ seat, going for hours at night to clear my head.”
“Now with everything going on, ‘alone’ feels like a ritual,” she continued, “Only I know my own little secret routine on these days of being by myself and I almost take comfort in it. It’s my own way of staying sane in my aloneness and it’s really helping me get through this. I hope all this makes sense — trying to describe a song is always a little daunting for me — but I always want to let you guys know where I’m coming from”
Directed remotely by Jake Schreier, check out the track and its accompanying video below.
Photo credit: Reto Schmid
