Days Are Gone
Days Are Gone is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Haim, 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".
Days Are Gone
September 27, 2013
- Sunset Sound (Hollywood, California)[a]
- Heavy Duty (Burbank, California)[b]
- Sear Sound (New York City)[b]
- Downtown (New York City)[b]
- Hyperion Sound (Los Angeles, California)[c]
- Vox (Los Angeles, California)[d]
- The Bank (Burbank, California)[e]
- The Premises (London)[f]
- Box (New York City)[g]
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Background[edit]
The three women 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.[3][4][5] Danielle and Este were members of the Valli Girls, an all-female band from Southern California that was signed to Columbia Records. Their song "Always There in You" was included on the soundtrack to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,[6][7] while "Valli Nation" appeared on the 2005 Kids' Choice Awards soundtrack.[8] Shortly after the band's appearance at the 2005 Kids' Choice Awards, Este and Danielle opted out of their contracts.[9]
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,[10] completed in two years instead of the customary five.[5][11] 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.[3] She has also toured as part of Scarlet Fever, the all-female backing band for CeeLo Green.[5] 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.[10] 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[12] Haim signed a deal with Polydor Records in the United Kingdom in June 2012.[13] In July 2012 independent record label National Anthem released the Forever EP on 10-inch vinyl, containing the original three songs along with a fourth track, a remix of "Forever" by Dan Lissvik.[14] All songs on the Forever EP were included on Days Are Gone, except for "Better Off".[15] Following dates supporting Mumford & Sons on their "Gentlemen of the Road" tour in the US in August 2012,[16][17] Haim made their debut tour of the UK in November 2012[18] and then supported Florence and the Machine on their UK and Ireland tour in December 2012.[19][20]
Singles[edit]
"Forever" was released as the lead single from the album on October 12, 2012.[21] It peaked at No. 75 on the UK Singles Chart.[22]
"Don't Save Me" was released as the second single from the album on November 8, 2012.[23] It reached No. 32 on the UK Singles Chart,[22] as well as No. 66 in Australia, No. 28 in Belgium (Flanders region), and No. 70 on the Irish Singles Chart.[24]
"Falling" (co-written by Morgan Nagler)[25] was released as the third single from the album on February 12, 2013. It peaked at No. 30 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 86 in Australia.[22]
"The Wire" was released as the fourth single from the album on August 9, 2013.[26] It peaked at No. 12 in Australia and No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart.[22]
"If I Could Change Your Mind" was released as the fifth single from the album on March 21, 2014.[27][28] It reached No. 27 on the UK Singles Chart.[22]
"My Song 5" was released as the sixth and final single from the album on August 15, 2014.[29]
Commercial performance[edit]
Days Are Gone entered the Billboard 200 at number six with first-week sales of 26,000 copies.[65] The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 37,005 copies in its first week.[66] On October 25, 2013, the album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments of over 60,000 copies in the UK, and on December 27, 2013, was certified gold denoting shipments of over 100,000 copies.[67] As of July 2017, the album had sold 300,244 copies in the United Kingdom.[68]