Music reviews: Haim, Addison Rae, and Annahstasia

'I Quit' by Haim

★★★

Haim, L.A.'s three-sister rock trio, has always made music that "pairs best with an iced beverage and a lawn chair," said Angie Martoccio in Rolling Stone. On their fourth album, "they don't just perfect that summer vibe; they dial up the heat—and bask in it." All three were single when recording the album, and the result is another dose of "sleek, soft pop-rock" that's also a cohesive concept record, one focused on breakups and "the hard-won independence you earn from them."

It's perhaps "too on the nose" that George Michael's "Freedom! '90" is sampled on the opening track, said Rachel Aroesti in The Guardian. Much of the album "fixates on the bitter end of a flawed relationship," evoking the breakup of lead vocalist Danielle Haim and Ariel Rechtshaid, producer of the band's first three albums. At first the Michael sample doesn't quite fit the tune, but then a guitar solo kicks in and this "Frankenstein's monster of a song" turns brilliant. Some of the remaining tracks are "instantly forgettable." But the sisters have packed in a few other gems, including "Relationships," an "absurdly delightful" single and "the best pop song they've ever made."

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'Addison' by Addison Rae

★★★

Addison Rae, against all odds, has just released "one of the most exciting pop records of the year," said Jaeden Pinder in Paste. This caps a year in which the former TikTok teen sensation transformed herself from a "flop star" to "the next left-of-center diva" because she "put her scrunched-up nose to the grindstone" and started making music she cared about. Back in 2021, Rae's ultraprocessed first single, "Obsessed," was widely mocked. But the 24-year-old has since teamed with two female songwriter-producers, and the young trio clearly draw inspiration from today's pop vanguard. You can hear Lana Del Rey's influence on "Diet Pepsi," while "New York" mixes Charli XCX–style electroclash with early FKA twigs.

Addison arrives in the wake of "a string of improbably great singles, each one a little weirder than the last," said Meaghan Garvey in Pitchfork. After "Diet Pepsi" came "Aquamarine"—"a four-on-the-floor siren song" reminiscent of Madonna's "Ray of Light." Throughout, "there's something potent in Rae's winking performance—a borderline unhinged devotion to the American promise that a person's destiny is entirely in their hands."

'Tether' by Annahstasia

★★★★

Annahstasia, a Los Angeles–based singer-songwriter, is "a once-in-a-generation vocalist" who has been trapped in a bad record contract for 13 years, said Laura Molloy in NME. But with her debut album, the 30-year-old is not only sharing the kind of music she's always wanted to make. She's also claiming "her rightful place as a pioneer of modern folk, propelling the genre forward by weaving in moments of tense rock and intoxicating blues."

Silenced for too long by handlers who steered her in a poppier direction, Annahstasia "has a lot to say" here, all in a husky purr that commands attention even in the sparest arrangements. And on Tether, she "balances the sweet, poignant lyrical observations of Joni Mitchell with the sensuality of Sade's Love Deluxe and the immense vocal power of Nina Simone." It's "as beautiful a record as you will hear this year," and it "heralds the arrival of a major talent," said Steve Baltin in the Los Angeles Times. "Gentle, soft, elegant, and graceful in a way that calls to mind a female Nick Drake," the album is "actually a bold statement to dare listeners to think and feel this much in these tumultuous times."