The Los Angeles-based trio HAIM has dropped a song that feels like a musical confession, a push-pull of defiantly wanting what you aren’t supposed to like. The pop-rock band established themselves as a major act without ever losing emotional heft, and their latest single, “Everybody’s trying to figure me out,” is no different.
The song was written by Alana Haim, Danielle Haim, Este Haim, Justin Vernon, and Rostam Batmanglij. It has the signature blend of rich melodies, interesting lyrics, and just the right amount of raw energy to keep listeners glued in. Produced by Rostam Batmanglij, Danielle Haim, and Buddy Ross, the track’s smooth production reflects the group’s progression, from their breakout moments to this more personal self-examination.
Lyrically, “Everybody’s trying to figure me out” works through the issue of self-definition versus the pressures surrounding it. Alana Haim’s candid vocals place you instantly in a room of emotional transparency. There’s an earnest desperation in how she sings as if this song is both an exorcism and an invocation. It’s a story that feels familiar to anyone who has ever found themselves embedded in the web of another’s expectations and judgment.
Musically, HAIM still mixes their signature pop-rock sound with a more experimental quality. The song expands slowly, peeling away shimmering guitar licks, light percussion, and airy synth texture, a wide-as-sky, exceedingly private soundscape. It’s a reminder of the band’s ability to sustain their identity even while expanding upon it with each new release. The first glimpse of their forthcoming fourth studio album, “Everybody’s trying to figure me out,” promises that the band’s next chapter will be as emotionally resonant and adventurous as what came before. For longtime devotees, it reminds us of what has made HAIM such a thrilling force in modern music. They aren’t afraid to change, expose themselves, or show their process to the world.
With this release, HAIM is shining once again a light on the blind spot of an identity, on a generation that refuses to sit still and that threatens to reach through the ocean of noise that surrounds them, and to forge their path like the flash of a comet, trying to navigate through short attention memories and power grabs as they reaffirm who they are against a world that would just as soon define them.
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