Something to Tell You

Haim toured for two years to support their previous release, Days Are Gone, the three sisters' 2013 debut album that was met with a great deal of critical and commercial success. With the conclusion of their tour came the beginning of the process of crafting Something to Tell You: "All we knew for two years was wake up, soundcheck, play the show, go to sleep and fit in a slice of pizza at some point. We needed to turn our brains from touring brains back to writing brains. When we came home, we literally got off the bus, took a nap and went right into the studio."[7] The initial sessions for the album were unfruitful; the band questioned the quality of the songs, wondering if they were on par with the debut album. However, a breakthrough came after the producers of the 2015 Judd Apatow–directed romantic comedy Trainwreck asked the band to write a song for the film's soundtrack. "Little of Your Love", the album's second single, was produced in under a week at the film producers' request, and although it was ultimately not selected for the soundtrack, completing the song gave the band the confidence they needed to write new material for the album.[7]

In the following years, the band developed the album, taking breaks and continuing to perform at various shows and festivals, much of which would further inspire the album. During the production of the album, Ariel Rechtshaid, one of the producers and Danielle Haim's partner, was diagnosed with testicular cancer. His diagnosis is cited by the band as the reason for the four-year delay between their first and second album as they halted production while Rechtshaid underwent treatment.[8][9] The band switched between Valentine Studios, an infrequently used 1970's production facility in Valley Village (a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California), and Rechtshaid's home studio.[7]

"Want You Back" was released as the album's first single on May 3, 2017, and was followed a week later by the promotional single, "Right Now". On May 13, the band performed "Want You Back" along with "Little of Your Love" on Saturday Night Live.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson filmed a documentary about the making of the album. Titled Valentine, the film was first screened in July 2017, before being officially uploaded to the internet that September.[10] Anderson would go on to direct music videos for three of the album's tracks "Right Now", "Little of Your Love", and a live version of "Night So Long".[11] Anderson became interested in the group after learning that the sisters were the daughters of one of his former art teachers.[10]

They made their first UK appearance at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend on May 27, performing "Want You Back" and "Right Now" as part of their set.[12]

The trio also embarked on their second headlining tour, the Sister Sister Sister Tour which begun on April 3, 2018.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[13]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[14]
Clash	7/10[15]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[16]
The Guardian	[17]
The Independent	[18]
NME	[19]
Pitchfork	7.8/10[1]
Rolling Stone	[20]
Slant Magazine	[21]
Uncut	[22]

Something to Tell You has received a generally positive reception from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 69 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable" reception.[13]

Writing for Pitchfork, Jenn Pelly said, "No other rock band in popular music (an anomalous statement already) has mixed styles so seamlessly—rattling and gliding from one hook to another...Haim's latticed arrangements and heavily percussive melodies make their music fly."[1] Pelly as well as several other reviewers stressed the influence of Stevie Nicks and other 1970s and '80s rock; in the Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood said the album "makes you believe that rock might have a future," bearing "the polished sound of vintage Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, and here the sisters continue to rely on guitars and the like at a moment when many of their peers have little use for them."[23] In Rolling Stone, Jon Dolan said, "You can hear the studied sense of craft all over Something to Tell You...These songs don't always explode with the sunny ebullience of the first LP, but the melodies, beats and ideas are layered and piled high."[20] In The Guardian, Kitty Empire writes, "Haim really know what they are doing. There are digressions to kill for here, what you might once have called middle eights, indefatigable melodies, and weird little noises – a horse neigh and a seagull coda on Want You Back, a fax machine on Found It in Silence, the gasping on Nothing's Wrong – to keep you clamping your headphones to your ears in delight."[24]

Something to Tell You debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 with 32,000 album-equivalent units, of which 26,000 were pure album sales.[25] It also debuted at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 18,319 copies in its first week.[26]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Credits adapted from AllMusic and album’s liner notes.[28][29]

• Something to Tell You at Discogs (list of releases)