With spring in the air (at least here in Southern California), the sun is shining bright, temperatures are finally hitting acceptable levels and beach season is not too far away. As they’ve been tearing up the Sirius XM Alt Nation charts the past few months with their luscious brand of alternative-meets-new wave-meets-sunny, California pop, there isn’t a better sound to prepare music listeners for the sounds of the summer than that of emerging power trio Haim.

Comprised of sisters Este, Danielle and Alana, the Haim sisters were raised in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. They listened to a lot of ‘70s era rock albums because of their parents and eventually, the entire Haim clan combined forces to form Rockinhaim, a family band that specialized in playing covers at local charity events and street fairs. After some time, the girls decided to venture off and write material on their own.  

It may seem hard, if not impossible to remember, but Este and Danielle were in another outfit before forming Haim: The Valli Girls. Though their legacy is nothing of notice (except being signed to a major label), the group’s claim to fame was that they were featured on the MTV reality show, PoweR Girls that was the brainchild of PR wiz Lizzie Grubman. The group may have dissolved a while ago, but the foundation from which they were built upon still is present in Haim’s music, which includes groups like Pat Benatar, Blondie, The Pretenders and Queen. But they’ve also have said that R&B groups like TLC and Destiny’s Child, along with rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Azaelia Banks have influenced them as well, creating a well rounded sound.

Danielle was the first of the sisters to get a musical break after the demise of The Valli Girls. Beginning with her playing drums in a band opening for Jenny Lewis to becoming Lewis’ touring guitar player to Julian Casablancas asking her to play guitar percussion to being a part of Cee-Lo Green’s backing band, Danielle learned from some of the biggest and prominent names in music, which inspired her sisters to pursue music as a full-time activity.

Since adding sister Alana to the mix, their sound has evolved since those early years. They’ve added elements of contemporary pop and R&B to create a sound as unique as the girls themselves.

After playing shows around Los Angeles and opening for bands like Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Cold War Kids, Grouplove, and Mumford and  Sons, the girls’ first EP, Forever, was released in 2012 to critical acclaim. Since, the girls have won plaudits from publications like NME and they’ve been rapidly climbing the aforementioned Alt Nation charts with “Falling.”

With a new album on the horizon for some point this year, the future is extremely bright for Haim. Catchy, sunny pop tunes combined with intricate melodies, the girls are sure to be fixtures on radio for years to come.