Haim have always seemed to exist in another world, a perpetual Instagram feed where unfeasibly attractive West Coast types glide around looking perfect, a place inaccessible to us plebs who forget to shave for days and get all sweaty after running for the subway. They’re likable enough, and their music is objectively well-constructed and well-played, even if it doesn’t necessarily appeal to one’s personal tastes. But they’ve just never been relatable — to this critic, anyway.
So the video for their new single “Want You Back” is a pleasant surprise. Its conceit is simple: it features the three Haim sisters walking down a deserted Los Angeles street. As the video progresses, they start air-playing various parts of the song. By the end, they’re dancing jubilantly. But there’s something kind of goofily relatable about it: this is what you or I do when we’re listening to our favorite music, singing and air-guitaring goofily and not caring if anyone else sees. It’s kind of nice to see that the beautiful people do the same thing, no?