Relationships by HAIM // Deluxe EP Review + Record Store Day Exclusive Clear Vinyl

- June 30, 2026

"Relationships" served as the lead single off of HAIM's 2025 album I quit and in many ways embodies the ethos of what the entire project represents. The song basks in the rush of leaving behind what - and who - no longer serves you or benefits your life - finally having the ability to fully live in the independence and freedom that comes with letting go of everything you once felt was holding you back.

As this song progresses, it feels like all of the baggage starts to fall to the wayside and the realization sets in that you're the one in control of your own life, the people that you allow to take space in it, and the energy you give to it. Throughout this song, Danielle continuously circles back to the blunt and necessary question that shapes it all - "Why am I in this relationship?"

It largely feels aligned with the new version of yourself you're becoming in that process of self-discovery, with the all-encompassing and often bittersweet feelings of love and personal reckoning that come with knowing when a relationship has pretty much run its course. With minor disagreements that used to feel insignificant suddenly escalate into something heavier, they are left wondering if its a sign they have been choosing to avoid until now.

"Baby, how can I explain when an innocent mistake turns into seventeen days? Fuckin' relationships," Danielle sings in the chorus. "Don't they end up all the same, when there's no one left to blame? I think I'm in love, but I can't stand fuckin' relationships".

The band has been working on this song for over seven years, and had been waiting for the moment they felt they finally cracked exactly what they wanted it to sound like. In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Alana said that "Relationships" is "...the closest we've ever gotten to how we wanted to sound." She added that the song is ultimately about the "...torturous feeling of knowing you should break up but not wanting to." Much of the rest of I quit is built upon that back and forth and the difficult decisions it comes with.

The inner tension of this song reaches its climax in the final verse; "I think I'm in love, but I can't stand communicating it, let me tell you how it ends, when we can't even pretend, feels like we're not even friends in this relationship," she sings. "But I would do it all again, if you put down your defenses, I think I'm in love, so why am I trying to escape from it? Maybe that's just how it goes, when you're not fully grown, but baby, when you know, you know, fuckin' relationships, so don't let it bring you down, 'cause it all comes back around".

As a part of the release of the deluxe edition of I quit in late 2025, HAIM also released a few new deluxe tracks to expand and give more insight into the different creative phases they went through during the album's creation that didn't quite make the final cut the first time around.

Those three additional songs were released for the first time on a physical format to celebrate Record Store Day in 2026, on a standalone EP named after the era's lead single - Relationships. It was limited to only 1,500 copies worldwide and pressed on a beautiful crystal clear vinyl - making it one of the most sought after releases for this year's event. It was very exciting to be able to find online at an indie record store that still had it in stock a day later, as all of the local shops in my area sold out of this release very quickly.

The front cover of the vinyl features the photo from the "Relationships" single shoot by Terrence O'Connor, who creative-directed the singles imagery for this era and pulled inspiration from several different iconic early 2000's paparazzi shots. The "Relationships" cover in particular is a reference to the famous paparazzi photo of Nicole Kidman leaving her lawyer's office in Los Angeles after her divorce from Tom Cruise was finalized in 2001. The unfiltered sense of euphoria and liberation that is one her face is such an iconic image that was so clever to reference years later for this song.

This single cover is a campy reinterpretation of that moment almost 25 years later, with Danielle, Alana, and Este each giving their own impression of that same unbridled joy and freedom across their faces. It would have actually worked perfectly for the official I quit album cover, although the direction they ultimately chose to go in for that was so fitting too.

In addition to the title track "Relationships", this vinyl EP also features the songs "Tie You Down", "The Story Of Us" and "Even The Bad Times". Together, these songs follow the immediate aftermath of a breakup and all of the conflicting feelings that come with a major life change like that; the confusion, longing, anger, and love that remains is explored through each.

"Tie You Down" takes more of a folk turn for the album, which is largely made up of eclectic, varied influences overall. It features Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, who is a frequent collaborator of the HAIM sisters. It is a beautiful extension of their previous work together, as well as feels like an evolution of "Relationships" as well. "I don't wanna hold you back, something feels wrong about that, but I'm feeling all I lack," both Danielle and Justin sing together on the song's bridge. This song captures them feeling at a crossroads in life and in their relationship as they take it all one day at a time, while knowing deep down that their time together has largely reached its conclusion. They grapple throughout the song on the parts that deserve to be left unsaid and what should finally be aired out in the open, while also fearing what the future looks like without the other in it.

Side B features one of the underrated highlights of this entire album cycle with "The story of us", which is now about the lingering feelings following their official breakup, and wanting the other back but knowing it won't do either of them any good to go back to their old ways again. It features a very Blur‑inspired riff, falling in line with much of the 90's rock influence that threads through I quit in numerous ways, but this is among the most well‑realized expression of that sound. The fast‑paced verses feel like a stream‑of‑consciousness rant, capturing the back‑and‑forth spiral over her ex in the aftermath of their breakup.

The lingering questions and desire for closure is at the forefront of "The story of us", which is best represented in the song's outro as she sings, "And I don't know if I can trust, if that's the end of the story of us, and I don't know if I'll ever trust again, is that the end, the end of us?"

"Even the bad times" serves as the perfect closing chapter for the entirety of this album. It is a heartfelt look back on their time together that came after she found the closure she was looking for throughout the rest of the album. There is such a softness to the way she writes about her ex on this song, as she revisits their time together with acceptance rather than heartache. The understanding that comes with looking back on this time in hindsight allows such a powerful ending to the story this album tells throughout.

Sonically, it feels like a callback to much of their sound on Women In Music Pt. III, while channeling the lessons learned in the process of making I quit years later. On this song, she looks back on their time together and reminiscing on specific moments and locations with honest sentimentality, devoid of any bitterness now.

"Look, you know you don't love me, baby, but I still wanna, nostalgia's crazy, memories of all our good nights got me staying up," she sings in the song's outro. "And even when you play that song, honey, I've been down so long, It's time to pack up, time to leave, time never was so sweet to me, but looking back... even the bad times were good".