It’s hard to believe that Haim’s debut album, “Days Are Gone,” only came out this week considering the amount of buzz the group has been getting over the past year. The three Haim sisters, Este, Danielle and Alana, have been playing music their whole lives but came together only last year to form Haim as it is known now. And what a first year it was—on the back of a few singles and festival shows, the trio signed to Jay Z’s Roc Nation and topped BBC’s Sound of 2013 poll. Audiences and critics went crazy for its breezy, throwback indie pop edged with Valley-girl cool, but “Days Are Gone” proves that that sound is not all the group is capable of.

Indeed, the album’s best feature is how it manages to avoid pigeonholing: after the opening pair of tracks, “Falling” and “Forever,” you might label the Haim sisters as only capable of the kind of sunny retro rock that fuelled their rise to fame, but the gritty opening chords and syncopated cymbals of third track “The Wire,” reminiscent of ’80s hair rock, will quickly prove you wrong. Over the course of “Days Are Gone,” it becomes clear that the Haim sisters aren’t discerning when it comes to musical inspiration and influence. There are strong echoes of Fleetwood Mac throughout the record, and this is probably the most exploited comparison by critics (“Honey & I” could easily pass off as a track on “Rumours”), but there are also touches of rhythm and blues on “Go Slow” and Tom Petty-style Americana on “Don’t Save Me.” Clearly, the band is using its musical upbringing to its advantage, cherry picking from every genre and honing the blend smoothly with its mastery of instrumentation.

Despite the mass of musical influences and ideas on “Days Are Gone,” the record never feels crowded. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Most tracks are decidedly minimalist, blending airy guitars and instruments with subdued vocals. Haim prefers to stick to a single riff or influence per song, leaving the record feeling distinctly light and effortless. One exception is “My Song 5,” a track that stands out on an album full of unique material. The track is Haim’s greatest foray into hip-hop experimentation; the beat is hard-hitting and abrasive, the bass stomping and the vocals fed through fuzzy overlays. Midway through the track, things take a turn for the trippy with distorted synths and a syncopated funk beat. It is the strangest and most persuasive track on the album.

Although its music may be innovative and just the right amount of edgy to please hipsters and mainstream fans alike, there is something off-puttingly polished about Haim’s debut. The lyrics at times seem like last-minute add-ons and at other times like contrived girl-power manifestos: “Honey, I’m not your honey pie.” The three longhaired sisters almost look like too-carefully tousled and styled California cool girls, although there’s no denying the talent with which they can play their instruments. Admittedly, the complaint is a small one for an otherwise exemplary debut.

Haim’s rise to eminence in music circles has been meteoric, and “Days Are Gone” is solid vindication for the praise it’s been building. This album feels like an ideal jumping-off point for the band—it hasn’t boxed itself into a single type, leaving the future open and promising for these three sisters. Going forward, hopefully they don’t lose the rough-around-the-edges aesthetic that makes so much of “Days Are Gone” compelling and contemporary and fall into the cookie-cutter girl power pop that sometimes manifests itself on the album.