Kevin Bronson on December 24th, 2012

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Haim returned to Los Angeles with the air of conquering heroes last week, big tours with Mumford & Sons and Florence + the Machine under their tightly cinched belts, a spot secured on the BBC’s Sound of 2013 Longlist and with a passel of U.K. press clippings you’d think were authored by folks who’d never seen three pretty California sisters before, except maybe in a tourist group at the Tower of London.

• ||| Photos by Kelsey Heng

Having been scooped up by major labels on both sides of the Atlantic, sisters Este, Danielle and Alana, abetted by a “mister,” drummer Dash Hutton, have released but one three-song EP and one single. And while their hype might outstrip their catalog at this juncture, Haim showed over an hour-plus at the packed-to-the-gills Troubadour that they are a force.

Which is no bulletin to anyone who witnessed the sisters in their infancy [Was this really almost three years ago?] or who ever saw them play with Mom and Dad in the family band Rockinhaim. Classic rock, played loud and proud, is in their genes; on its foundation Haim layers empowerment-styled ’80s R&B and ’90s rocker licks until everything – fans’ bodies and their long hair, especially – is flying.

They play with a tomboyish ferocity, like the girls from down the block who talk their way into your pickup basketball game and then set a pick that knocks you flat on your back. So much of their music is percussion-based, their beats end up being more memorable than their melodies. Not that they can’t sing – Danielle in her foreboding alto – and harmonize, but Haim’s calling card at this point is rhythm, not choruses. They are much more indie jam band than leaders of singalongs, at least at this point.

It took barely two songs Wednesday night for Haim to whip the Troubadour crowd into a frenzy, and by the time Mom came onstage the place was bonkers. “It feels good to be home and see a bunch of familiar faces,” Este said, and that was true. But nobody should blame Haim if they go away for a few months now to work out some more songs and record a full-length album. They’ve inspired a lot of band crushes; with their talents, it’s not hard to imagine a long-term relationship.