Haim has excellent 'Days' ahead

• Band of three sisters %22and one mister%22 delivers infectious first album
• The Haim siblings played in their parents%27 cover band as kids
• Nearly two years of touring has built high interest in the group%27s debut

After a seemingly endless summer, Haim is primed for its formal introduction.

The Los Angeles band, made up of three musical sisters — Este, Danielle and Alana Haim (plus drummer Dash Hutton) — played a jam-packed itinerary that spanned both sides of the Atlantic, including a trifecta of performances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Glastonbury music festivals.

The group's busy schedule, which earlier in the year included successive stints opening for Florence + the Machine, Mumford & Sons and Vampire Weekend, hindered the album-making process. But Haim (pronounced "Hime") squeezed in enough studio time to complete Days Are Gone, out Monday.

"It was hard for us to focus on just doing a record when people like Florence (Welch) and Marcus Mumford were asking us to go on tour," says bass player Este, the big sister of the group at 27. "We had to go on tour and come back to it, which really was kind of nice because being on the road is inspiring for us."

Along the way, the band released a trio of singles (Forever, Don't Save Me and Falling), revealing a polished studio prowess to match its energetic live show. The building buzz has made Days Are Gone one of this fall's most anticipated album debuts, says Jason Lipshutz, associate editor at Billboard.com.

"What is remarkable is that they seem so comfortable in the studio already when ... they are very much a live band," he says. "They just kind of radiate this older sister vibe, someone who is cooler than you, and they radiate that in their music, too."

The 11-song collection of infectious, slick pop songs includes recent single The Wire, which has an entertaining video that presents the girls as heartbreakers (Jorma Taccone of comedy group The Lonely Island is among the guys dumped by the Haim sisters, yet he still feels drawn to attend the band's concert).

"No song is strictly biographical — we draw a lot of inspiration from our friends' stories, too," Este says. "We have three songwriters in the band. A lot of the songs are each of our stories, all melded. Whether we like it or not, we judge the quality of our lives based on the relationships that we have. I know I do."

Family is central to the band's story. The girls began performing with their parents in a cover band called Rockinhaim at ages 11 (Este), 8 (Danielle) and 5 (Alana). "Mustang Sally was the first song we learned together," Este says.

As they got older, the sisters began crafting their own songs and performing in L.A. venues. In 2009 and 2010, Danielle played in touring bands with ex-Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis and Strokes singer Julian Casablancas. In addition to asking the band to open for him, Casablancas offered valuable advice about expanding Haim's horizons and honing the sisters' creative talents.

First EP Forever went online in February 2012, and the band played multiple shows at the South By Southwest festival in Austin. Its growing reputation led to an invite to do a live recording at the BBC.

Subsequently, Haim topped the BBC's Sound of 2013 list, which showcases the best rising stars. "Stuff really started snowballing," Danielle told USA TODAY in an interview with the sisters in Austin this past March, where Haim was named the best developing U.S. act in its return to SXSW.

Since then, Haim has been touted by Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone, and last week was named an Artist to Watch by MTV. "It's been pretty amazing watching them grow over the last couple years," says Ezra Koenig, singer and guitarist for Vampire Weekend, whose producer Ariel Rechtshaid wound up assisting on Haim's album. "They are one of the few bands I was really struck by just how good they could play."

Don't hold your breath waiting for a family feud. "There is really no drama. We have been playing in a band since we were, like, five," says Alana. "If we were going to fall out and have our Oasis moment, it would have happened 10 years ago. The only time we ever have disagreements is when I want to borrow Danielle's leather jacket and she doesn't want to let me. That's a fight."

Fans who've followed the band will know a number of songs on Days Are Gone. Five have appeared on EPs but "it's really not a detriment because the other half of the unheard songs could be singles in themselves," says Lipshutz. "They are just that good."

Latest single The Wire starts off with a clap, drumbeat and riff reminiscent of the Eagles' Heartache Tonight, a song that mines similar relationship territory. "If someone thinks it's an homage to the Eagles, that's great," says Este. "But it definitely wasn't a conscious decision."

On Honey and I, Danielle's voice channels Christine McVie, and the song has a Fleetwood Mac vibe that won't quiet comparisons to that platinum-selling California band.

My Song 5 could portend things to come, with funkiness that recalls Sign of the Times-era Prince. "It's kind of a curveball and I like that," Este says. "I don't really like records where every song sounds the same."

Each sister is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, although Danielle, 23, handles most of the lead vocals and unleashes powerful guitar leads live. Alana, 21, plays guitar and keyboards. They all join Hutton on drums in live performances of Let Me Go. Collectively, their cascading harmonies and layered vocals add a fresh sheen to their sound.

With the album's release, the band embarks on its own U.S. headlining tour in October. Then the sisters head overseas again — Haim just played the iTunes Festival in London — to open for Phoenix on more than a dozen European shows before headlining several concerts in the U.K. and Ireland.

But the band won't forget this past summer. Before going on stage at Glastonbury, where Haim played to a crowd of 30,000, "all of us stopped for a second," Este says. "We really wanted to appreciate it. It was kind of a surreal moment for us."

The album's release should swell Haim's own crowds. "We are really charged up and fired up about the record," Este says. "It was so difficult for me not to just leak the record on my own. We hope that people like it and enjoy what we are doing."