Women in Music Pt. III

Women in Music Pt. III is the third studio album by American band Haim. It was released through Columbia Records on June 26, 2020. The album was originally set for release on April 24, 2020 but was delayed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and "the changing nature of travel policies and quarantines across the world."[2] The album's release was later moved to June 26.[3] It was produced by Danielle Haim,[4] Rostam Batmanglij and Ariel Rechtshaid, and was preceded by the singles "Summer Girl", "Now I'm in It" and "Hallelujah".[5] The song "The Steps" was released alongside the album pre-order.[4]

Women in Music Pt. III
Studio album by Haim
Released	June 26, 2020
Studio	Heavy Duty (Burbank, California) Effie Street (Los Angeles, California) Vox (Los Angeles, California) Strongroom (London, England)[lower-alpha 1]
Genre	Pop rock[1]
Length	51:39
Label	Polydor Vertigo Berlin Columbia
Producer	Danielle Haim Rostam Batmanglij Ariel Rechtshaid
Haim chronology
Something to Tell You (2017) Women in Music Pt. III (2020)
Singles from Women in Music Pt. III
"Summer Girl" Released: July 31, 2019 "Now I'm in It" Released: October 30, 2019 "Hallelujah" Released: November 18, 2019 "The Steps" Released: March 3, 2020 "I Know Alone" Released: April 29, 2020 "Don't Wanna" Released: May 21, 2020

Before being officially announced, it was named one of the most anticipated albums of 2020 by several outlets, including Pitchfork and Vulture.[6][7]

Background and composition

The trio initially teased the album with the abbreviation WIMPIII on their social media, jokingly offering a "free T-shirt" to anybody who could guess what it stood for or who had an answer that made them laugh.[8]

After touring for their previous album, the band experienced various personal struggles, including the death of Alana's friend, Este's struggles with Type 1 diabetes, and Danielle's partner Ariel Rechtshaid's cancer diagnosis.[9] They channeled these experiences into their music, with "an unflinching honesty" and "intimately familiar with depression in all its states".[9] True to the album's title, many songs are about the misogyny the band faces in the music industry, for example "Man From the Magazine" is a tongue-in-cheek Joni Mitchell-esque song about the casually sexist questions asked of them by journalists.[10]

The album cover was shot at Canter's Deli in Los Angeles by Paul Thomas Anderson, who also directed the music videos for all three singles and "The Steps".[11]

Women in Music, Pt. III is a primarily pop rock album, that features elements of folk-pop,[9][12] hip hop,[13][12] reggae,[13][12] lo fi,[13] heartland rock,[12] dance,[12] country rock,[10] UK Garage,[10] electropop,[14] free jazz,[14] funk,[10] 1990s R&B,[9] as well as 1970s and 1980s pop.[9]

Release

The album's first single, "Summer Girl", preceded the album by several months, becoming the first of three (at the time) standalone singles released that same year, along with "Now I'm in It" and "Hallelujah", with a music video for each release, all directed by frequent collaborator Paul Thomas Anderson.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.2/10[15]
Metacritic	89/100[16]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
And It Don't Stop	A–[17]
The Daily Telegraph	[1]
The Guardian	[18]
The Independent	[19]
NME	[20]
The Observer	[21]
Pitchfork	8.6/10[10]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Slant Magazine	[12]

Women in Music Pt. III was met with universal acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 89, based on 22 reviews.[16] The album was a New York Times Critic's Pick[22] and was featured on Pitchfork's Best New Music.[10]

Many critics noted the trio's use of new sounds and exploration of new genres on the album. Writing for Pitchfork, Aimee Cliff called it "Haim as we haven’t quite heard them before: not just eminently proficient musicians, entertainers, and 'women in music,' but full of flaws and contradictions, becoming something much greater." Cliff wrote that the album "eschew[s] Haim's usual summery rock to find the right genre for the mood" sometimes mixing multiple genres within the same track.[10] Lindsay Zoladz, writing for the New York Times, remarked that the record "clears a welcome path forward for the group's sound," cautioning that "every so often they overstuff the arrangements with one too many sonic quirks or spoken-word bridges, but more often than not their risks are rewarding."[22] Reviewing in his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau applauded Batmanglij for enhancing the band's compositions, in which, "from booty calls to dreams so much sweeter than what anyone wakes up to in this cruel time, the lyrics evoke the pains and complexities of the single life each of these seamless siblings is obliged to face alone after all."[17]

In July 2020, the album was included on Entertainment Weekly and Slant Magazine 's list of the best albums of 2020 so far.[13]

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Danielle Haim, Rostam Batmanglij and Ariel Rechtshaid, except where noted.

Women in Music Pt. III track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Los Angeles"	Danielle Haim Este Haim Alana Haim Rostam Batmanglij Ariel Rechtshaid	3:20
2.	"The Steps" (additional production by Dave Fridmann)	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Rechtshaid	4:07
3.	"I Know Alone"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Rechtshaid Buddy Ross	3:46
4.	"Up from a Dream"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Rechtshaid	3:17
5.	"Gasoline"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij	3:13
6.	"3 AM"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Tommy King Batmanglij Rechtshaid	3:10
7.	"Don't Wanna"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij	3:21
8.	"Another Try"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Rechtshaid	3:25
9.	"Leaning on You"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij	3:21
10.	"I've Been Down"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij	2:51
11.	"Man from the Magazine"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim	2:06
12.	"All That Ever Mattered"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Rechtshaid	2:30
13.	"FUBT"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Tayla Parks	3:13
Total length:			41:40

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Now I'm in It"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Ramesh Srivastava Rechtshaid	3:24
15.	"Hallelujah"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Tobias Jesso Jr.	3:10
16.	"Summer Girl"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Rechtshaid Reed	3:25
Total length:			51:39

Bonus tracks (vinyl version)[23]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Summer Girl" (video version)	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Rechtshaid Reed	3:52
15.	"Now I’m in It" (video version)	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Batmanglij Srivastava Rechtshaid	3:56
16.	"Hallelujah"	D. Haim E. Haim A. Haim Jesso	3:10
Total length:			52:38

Notes

• "Summer Girl" contains a portion of the composition "Walk on the Wild Side", written by Lou Reed.

Personnel

All track numbers refer to the digital, CD and cassette releases of the album.[24]

Haim Danielle Haim – vocals (all tracks), electric guitar (1, 3–6, 10, 12, 14, 15), drums (1–5, 7–10, 12, 16), guitar (2, 7), drum programming (3, 6, 12), congas (8, 10, 14), acoustic guitar (9, 11, 14), synthesizer (12), lead guitar (13), bass programming (16) Este Haim – bass (1, 2, 4–12, 14), vocals (1–10, 12–16), upright bass (16), Alana Haim – organ (1), piano (1), bass (1), vocals (1–10, 12–16), acoustic guitar (2, 9, 11), shaker (2), electric guitar (4–6, 8, 10, 12), guitar (7, 16), lead guitar (13), congas (14) Additional musicians Rostam Batmanglij – electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14), organ (1, 7, 10, 16), piano (1, 4, 10, 14), horn arrangement (1, 8, 10), 12-string guitar (2, 9), synthesizer (3, 4, 8, 13, 14, 16), side-chained bass (3), acoustic guitar (4–7, 9–11, 16), vocals (4, 6, 7, 9, 10), bass (5), Mellotron (5), accordion (5), CS-80 (5), drum programming (7, 8, 12–14, 16), mandolin (7), double bass (9), Orchestron (9), rhythm guitar (13), synth programming (14), string arrangement (15), shaker (16), slide guitar (16), saxophone arrangement (16) Cass McCombs – electric guitar (2, 4) Ariel Rechtshaid – synthesizer (2–4, 6, 7, 12, 14), bass (2, 4, 11), organ (2, 4), drum programming (3–6, 12–14), electric guitar (3, 12), acoustic guitar (3), vocals (3, 4, 6, 14), flange guitar (5), turntables (6), harmonium (9), hand drums (9), horn arrangement (10), synth programming (14), electric guitar drones (15), tambourine (16), additional drums (16), CDJ (16) Buddy Ross – organ (2), synth and drum programming (3), synthesizer (8, 14) Benji Lysaght – acoustic guitar (2), electric guitar (6) Philip Peterson – cello (3) Joe Thornally – spoken word (6) Tommy King – Chamberlin (6), harpsichord (6), synthesizer (6), piano (8), Juno (8), Mellotron (8), Yamaha PS-30 (8), Moog (8) JJ Kirkpatrick – trumpet (8) Julian Maclanahan – mandolin (9), violin (15) Henry Solomon – saxophone (10, 16) Amir Yagmai – electric guitar (12) Jim-E Stack – drum programming (13) Jack Hallenbeck – synthesizer (13) Rob Moose – violin (15), viola (15), string arrangement (15) Tobias Jesso Jr. – acoustic guitar (15)

Engineers Ariel Rechtshaid – engineering (all tracks), mixing (6, 8, 10–13, 16) Rostam Batmanglij – engineering (all tracks), mixing (6, 8, 10–13, 16) John DeBold – engineering (all tracks) Joey Messina Doerning – engineering (1–13) Tristan Friebderg Rodman – engineering (1, 9, 15) Matt DiMona – engineering (1–10, 12), assistance (14–16) Jasmine Chen – engineering (1–7, 10), assistance (14–16) Chris Kasych – engineering (2, 6, 8, 16) Dave Schiffman – engineering (4, 5) Dalton Ricks – engineering (4, 14, 16) Michael Harris – engineering (15, 16) Grace Banks – engineering (15, 16) Nate Head – engineering (16) Dave Fridmann – mixing (1, 4, 9) Tom Elmhirst – mixing (2, 3, 5, 7, 15) Manny Marroquin – mixing (14) Shawn Everett – mixing (16) Chris Galland – mix engineering (14) Robin Florent – mix assistance (14) Scott Desmarais – mix assistance (14) Jeremie Inhaber – mix assistance (14) Matt Scatchell – mix assistance (2, 3, 5, 7, 15) Emily Lazar – mastering Chris Allgood – mastering assistance Artwork Paul Thomas Anderson – photography, art direction Erica Frauman – photography, art direction Florencia Martin – photography, art direction Sergie Loobkoff – photography, art direction Maria Paula Marulanda – design Marek Polewski – design

Charts

Chart performance for Women in Music Pt. III

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25]	7
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26]	25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27]	20
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[28]	37
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29]	41
French Albums (SNEP)[30]	187
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31]	27
Irish Albums (OCC)[32]	5
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33]	37
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34]	33
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[35]	30
Scottish Albums (OCC)[36]	2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[37]	59
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38]	55
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39]	11
UK Albums (OCC)[40]	1
US Billboard 200[41]	13
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[42]	1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[43]	1

Notes

1. Except "Now I'm in It", recorded at Echo Park Backhouse (Los Angeles), Heavy Duty, Vox, Effie Street, Ulvhälls Herrgård (Strängnäs, Sweden), and Matsor Projects (Los Angeles)

References

1. McCormick, Neil (June 25, 2020). "Haim, Women In Music Part III, review: a fantastic, summery pop rock treat". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
2. Strauss, Matthew (March 23, 2020). "HAIM Delay New Album Release Due to Coronavirus". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
3. Strauss, Matthew. "HAIM Reveal New Album Release Date, Share New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
4. Kohn, Daniel (March 2, 2020). "HAIM Announce Women In Music Pt.III". Spin. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
5. Strauss, Matthew (March 2, 2020). "HAIM Announce New Album Women in Music Pt. III". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
6. Sodomsky, Sam (January 6, 2020). "The 39 Most Anticipated Albums of 2020: Lana Del Rey, Tame Impala, and More". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
7. Jenkins, Craig; Lockett, Dee (January 9, 2020). "32 Albums We Can't Wait to Hear in 2020". Vulture. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
8. Chesler, Josh (March 1, 2020). "HAIM Tease New Album Title, More Info Releasing Tomorrow". Spin. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
9. Phares, Heather. "Women in Music, Pt. 3 - HAIM". AllMusic. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
10. Cliff, Aimee (June 25, 2020). "Haim: Women in Music Pt. III Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
11. DeVille, Chris (March 2, 2020). "Haim Announce New Album Women In Music Pt.III". Stereogum. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
12. Winograd, Jeremy (June 23, 2020). "Review: HAIM's Women in Music Pt. III Is Defined by a Strong Sense of Self". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
13. "The best albums of 2020… so far". Entertainment Weekly. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
14. Spanos, Brittany (June 15, 2020). "Haim Bottle L.A. Lightning on the Provocative 'Women in Music Pt. III'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
15. "Women In Music Pt. III by Haim reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
16. "Women In Music, Pt. III by HAIM Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
17. Christgau, Robert (August 12, 2020). "Consumer Guide: August, 2020". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
18. Snapes, Laura (June 26, 2020). "Haim: Women in Music Pt III review – a cathartic walk on the blue side of life". The Guardian. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
19. Brown, Helen (June 25, 2020). "Haim review, Women in Music Pt III: A fearless, effervescent album". The Independent. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
20. Daly, Rhian (June 16, 2020). "Haim – 'Women In Music Pt. III' review: experimental and emotionally charged album is their best yet". NME. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
21. Empire, Kitty (June 27, 2020). "Haim: Women in Music Pt III review – their most direct album yet". The Observer. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
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23. "HAIM Women in Music Pt III Red Opaque Vinyl". HAIM Store.
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32. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
33. "Charts.nz – Haim – Women in Music Pt. III". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
34. "Norwegiancharts.com – Haim – Women in Music Pt. III". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
35. "Portuguesecharts.com – Haim – Women in Music Pt. III". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
36. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
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39. "Swisscharts.com – Haim – Women in Music Pt. III". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
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