Haim Time

Haim's Danielle Haim on 2025's I Quit, the value of classic rock covers and who she considers an outright genius

- JANELLE BORG

YOU COULD SAY Danielle Haim and her sisters — Alana and Este — were born and raised to be rock stars. “I was around 10 when we started our ‘band,’ which was us just learning songs and playing them in our living room,” Danielle says. “Our first gig was in fifth grade.”

The Haim women have been on quite a journey since their living-room days at the turn of the millennium. A couple of years later, their first gig as a trio took place at a Jewish deli in Hollywood. Their debut EP, Forever, released in 2012, set them on a path that continues to redefine what a contemporary rock band — not to mention modern guitar heroes — sound and look like, with the subsequent genre-blending records, Days Are Gone (2013), Something to Tell You (2017), Women in Music Pt. III (2020) and 2025's I Quit taking as much from hip-hop, Destiny's Child and TLC as they do from conventional rock.

Danielle's guitar playing is no different. The multi-instrumentalist seamlessly shifts between percussive rhythm parts and searing rock- and blues-tinged solos - a style partly acquired from her background as a touring guitarist and gun for hire, but mostly from her abilities as a drummer.

"I approach guitar playing as a percussive instrument," she says. "I love muted jabs and more rhythmic playing. [Dr. Dre's] 2001 [also known as The Chronic 2001] was huge for me. The way Outkast utilized guitar on