It’s safe to say that 2013 is going to be a good year for Haim. The West Coast trio is buzzing like a little bee right now, with a recent signing to Columbia Records, opening slots for the xx and Mumford & Sons, and public approval from Katy Perry and Azealia Banks. (Perry tweets: “Been listening to these ladies since the summer, I can’t keep hiding them from u.”)
A family affair, the San Fernando Valley–based Haim played with Mom and Dad in folksy outfit Rockinhaim until last year; the group is now composed of three sisters, Alana, Danielle and Este Haim. The girls’ output, which consists of a polished EP, Forever, and an excellent single, “Don’t Save Me/Send Me Down,” favors anthems to California’s eternal summer, fitted with girl-group hand claps and lots of hair-tossing. Another Haim highlight is “Hold Me,” a worthy Fleetwood Mac cover imbued with a ’90s R&B sensibility—a result of growing up on Aaliyah and Destiny’s Child. Haim’s effervescent earworms lean heavily on percussion—you can expect all three to bang the drums, and on tour the siblings bring a spare battery member.
Also falling into the category of blog-touted bands to watch is MS MR, opening for Haim on its home turf in Brooklyn. The boy-girl duo, inked to Sony, has thus far released the fluid Candy Bar Creep Show EP—a suitable name for its sweet-sinister art pop, which features more than its share of pouty witchiness, and is often mentioned in the same breath as Lana Del Rey. Will MS MR suffer the same fate as the once-hyped songstress? We’re just as curious as you.—Marley Lynch
Follow Marley Lynch on Twitter: @marleyasinbob