Paul Thomas Anderson and Haim have teamed up yet again, this time collaborating on a music video for the band’s new single, “Lost Track.” First unveiled during select screenings of Licorice Pizza, “Lost Track” was widely released on Tuesday in accompaniment with Anderson and Alana Haim’s Directors Issue cover of W Magazine.
The video is set at an old-fashioned 1950s country club in the Valley (because with PTA and Haim, it’s always the Valley). Clad in a navy wool suit, lead vocalist Danielle Haim looks bored and uncomfortable in the audience of a charity fashion show in which her sisters, Este and Alana, are models. “I’ll never get back what I lost track of,” she sings while lighting a floral centerpiece on fire.
Anderson and musician-slash-actress Alana Haim proved to be something of a dream team with the release of last year’s nostalgia-steeped coming-of-age charmer, Licorice Pizza. The film premiered in November to rave reviews, with Alana in particular earning praise for her revelatory big-screen debut. The film is nominated in three categories, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the Academy Awards later this month.
But Anderson and Haim’s creative partnership has been going on long before Licorice Pizza. The “Boogie Nights” director has helmed nine of the indie rock group’s music videos, with the sisters’ chill, sun-drenched California vibes pairing perfectly with his aesthetic tendencies. Revisit all of their past collaborations below, and check out their latest, “Lost Track,” above.
“Valentine,” 2017
Anderson and Haim’s first-ever collaboration, “Valentine,” is actually a legit short film. Over the course of 14 minutes, it documents the band in the studio playing various songs from their sophomore album, Something to Tell You. In a statement released at the time, Haim traced the beginnings of the partnership, saying, “We’ve been fans of Paul’s since the first time we saw Boogie Nights on TBS when we were kids (highly edited for cable TV lol). Growing up he WAS the Valley.”
“Little of Your Love,” 2017
In the infectiously joyful video for “Little of Your Love,” Haim is having a dance party and we’re all invited. The dress code is vintage denim and tousled California girl waves that trail behind the sisters as they twirl across the dance floor, and the tinsel-strewn, country dive bar setting is provided by the iconic, now-shuttered L.A. gay bar Oil Can Harry’s.
“Night So Long (Live at the Greek),” 2018
Simplicity can be underrated; at least, that’s what the video for “Night So Long” posits. In the empty Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, Haim performs the emotional, slow-burning track about a relationship ending. The sisters’ vocals speak for themselves, accompanied by plucky electric guitar and echoing throughout the outdoor amphitheater, and the end of the video brilliantly cuts to their concert at the same venue later that night, this time with a full audience.
“Summer Girl,” 2019
Warning: Do not watch this video unless you’re prepared to spend the entire rest of the week desperately longing for the return of warm weather. In “Summer Girl,” the Haim sisters start off bundled in bulky, cold-weather gear, strutting down the street to the mellow yet sultry “do-do-d-do’s” of the song’s chorus and casually stripping off layer after layer. Eventually, they’re a summertime Americana vision in linen skirts, cut-off jean shorts, and gingham bralettes as the sun sets behind them.
“Now I’m In It,” 2019
There’s nothing these women love more than marching down a sidewalk to a drum beat. “Now I’m In It” begins with Danielle in a fog of depression, stumbling through mundane everyday activities. Este and Alana rescue her, prompting a stunning sequence of close-up shots on Danielle’s face as she’s cleansed by a walk through a car wash. She emerges with a strut in her step once again, ready to stomp with her sisters to a night out at a bar with their real-life romantic partners.
“Hallelujah,” 2019
The music video for this folky acoustic bonus track plays with a bare-bones set and subtle visual effects. As the sisters work through sparse verses about chronic illness and the death of a friend, they float, suspended above a dark stage, and move chairs without touching them as if attached to an invisible string.
“The Steps,” 2020
Co-directed by Danielle, “The Steps” sees the trio getting ready for the day, smearing on magenta lipstick and spitting at the bathroom mirror. The lyrics and the exasperated expressions on the womens’ faces capture the frustration of a flailing relationship with a checked-out partner.
“Man From the Magazine,” 2020
“Man From the Magazine” is unique in its stripped-down nature and the fact that it only features middle sister Danielle. It was filmed on the day Haim shot the cover art for their phenomenal 2020 album Women in Music Pt. III at Canter’s Deli. A true testament to the creative chemistry between the director and the sisters, the “Man From the Magazine” video was relatively impromptu, with PTA hearing the powerful song and deciding it needed a visual accompaniment. Danielle sang it live from behind the deli counter while taking orders from extras, and the result is a poignant meditation on sexism in Hollywood.
