Haim – “I Know Alone”

Reto Schmid

Haim – “I Know Alone”

Reto Schmid

Haim’s new album Women In Music Pt.III was supposed to be out last Friday, but like so many major 2020 releases, it’s been delayed due to coronavirus. Upon postponing the album, the band said they’d be releasing it “later this summer,” and as of today we know it’s actually dropping early in the season, on 6/26. On Twitter, they explain, “the original plan was to release wimpiii later on this summer well fuck that we are gonna release it on june 26th, just in time for summer we can’t wait.” Speaking to Beats 1, Alana Haim adds “there’s going to be more surprises from now until then.”

Also as of today, we get another new Haim song and video to whet our appetites. WIMPIII has already yielded four stunning singles, last year’s trifecta of “Summer Girl,” “Now I’m In It,” and “Hallelujah” — all of which are now considered bonus tracks — plus the more recent guitar banger “The Steps.” Today Haim share a fifth preview from the album, “I Know Alone,” which they’ll presumably perform remotely when they appear on Colbert tonight.

Whereas “The Steps” was one of Haim’s purest rock songs, “I Know Alone” is one of their most distinctly electronic tracks, a breathy, moody, low-key dance track. These three can make just about any shot they take right now. Like several of Haim’s recent songs, “Now I’m In It” in particular, this one finds Danielle Haim getting real about her struggles with loneliness and depression. It was written a whole ago, but opening lyric “Been a couple days since I’ve been out” is one of those lines that just hits different right now. Danielle offered more detail in an Instagram post yesterday:

“I know alone” comes out tomorrow. it was always going to be the next song we wanted to show u guys from wimpiii, but it has kind of taken on a new meaning. the first lyric we wrote was “i know alone like no one else does”. 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 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. 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 alone-ness and its 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 u guys know where I’m coming from. We hope that this song can bring u a little comfort in this crazy time and since we are bursting at the seams to put it out, comment and we might send you a little snippet ‍♀️ xD

All of the prior singles from this album have been accompanied by videos directed by Hollywood legend Paul Thomas Anderson, who also shot the cover art. The “I Know Alone” video, however, was directed remotely by Jake Schreier after the world went on lockdown. It features choreography by Francis And The Lights and Haim. Watch it below.

Women In Music Pt.III is out 6/26 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.

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