Everyone is Invited to Be the Additional Haim Sisters Bandmate.
"When are you speaking to the band?" a message reads. "I wanted to ask if I can be their fourth member."
There's just a key snag: The sender also desires to be the Haims' additional sibling. And we're in plentiful company. Several high-profile admirers have publicly coveted the position.
One thing is obvious a special quality is happening. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana began their path playing gigs at local delicatessens with their parents. Today, they are multiple Grammy nominees.
Similar to the best bands, they're a close unit. Their videos repeatedly feature them striding in unison down the avenues of Los Angeles. In concert, they play with such pure exuberance you inevitably think, "I wish to be involved in that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that fans approached us and said, 'Watching you live, I picked up a drum kit'," remarks Alana, the youngest of the sisters. "It is the biggest compliment. It is a prize in itself. We've done our job if we can encourage people to form a group."
"Therefore all gets an invitation to be the fourth Haim sister."
Award Recognition
The band have called into home, where they're recovering after an major tour in for their new album, I Quit.
They're presently reeling from the news it's been in the running for best rock album at the Grammys – with Haim the first all-female band ever in consideration for the prize.
"I watch the announcements every year, so it almost feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is read out," notes Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this right or am I hallucinating'?"
The significance of the nomination is deeply felt by the band.
"We deliberately set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a huge achievement," says Alana. "Yet we're just thankful for the female artists that paved the way."
Personal Turmoil and Candor
The record came out of a phase of transition. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music explores that unique transitional period where you're glad to be free, but not quite ready to move on.
The lyrics follow endings and goodbyes. The sisters desire love, but not the kind of love they've experienced. You can hear them working out in the moment who they are becoming.
"I love summary, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to make an effort in blocking the noise and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."
Refinement of Style
That newfound toughness demanded a different sonic direction – more unpolished and direct than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that started with the drum sound.
"The drum sound is such a specific thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our biography," jokes Alana. "Our motto is, our albums won't commence until we find the ideal drum sound."
Stories and Collective Humor
The band's honesty fueled the album's rollout, where the sisters disclosed some of their romantic horror stories.
Someone left Este over a health consideration. Alana recalled a story of flying to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.
"When you're going through these breakups, you just feel like there's no hope," says Alana. "Therefore to be able to find humor in those stories and have them tell you more outrageous stories, it's incredible."
A Confident Future
One can easily sense a shift in the band. Now, Haim are more assured of their position in the rock pantheon.
They're festival headliners, with successful albums and an global following.
However the sister act will consistently be their number one commitment.
"Me and my siblings have been performing since I was a young child," concludes Alana. "There is nothing else that we were destined for. And I'm really thankful we've reached this point and we're still kicking."
