Everyone Are Invited to Become the Fourth Haim Bandmate.
"Any idea when you're interviewing Haim?" a message reads. "I wanted to ask if I can be their fourth member."
There's just one problem: I also longs to be Haim's newest recruit. What's more, we are in plentiful company. Several high-profile admirers have publicly coveted the role.
One thing is obvious a special quality is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana began their career doing sets at small eateries with their parents. Today, they are multiple Grammy contenders.
Like all the best ensembles, they're a tight-knit unit. Their music videos repeatedly feature them walking in sync down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they play with such unfettered happiness you inevitably think, "I wish to be a piece of that, too."
"How often on tour that fans approached us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I got a drum kit'," remarks Alana, the most junior of the sisters. "It is the ultimate compliment. It is a prize in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can motivate young girls to form a group."
"So everyone is invited to be the honorary Haim sister."
Historic Recognition
The group are connecting from a break, where they're taking a pause after an lengthy tour in support of their fourth album, I Quit.
They're presently processing the news it's been nominated for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the pioneering female band ever in consideration for the prize.
"I follow the announcements every year, so it almost feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is read out," says Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this right or am I imagining things'?"
The weight of the honor isn't lost on the band.
"We really set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a major achievement," says Alana. "But we're just thankful for the women that came before us."
Personal Turmoil and Laughter
The album came out of a period of personal change. All three sisters ended up single, and the music captures that unique liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not yet ready to move on.
The lyrics track endings and partings. The sisters want love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them figuring out in the moment who they are becoming.
"I adore description, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to consciously practice ignoring the outside opinions and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Refinement of Music
That recent toughness called for a new sound – more raw and immediate than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that started with the drums.
"Percussion is such a nuanced thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she emphasizes.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the title of our biography," jokes Alana. "Our motto is, our albums cannot begin until we find the ideal drum sound."
Experiences and Collective Humor
The band's candor shaped the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their dating horror stories.
One man left Este over a health consideration. Alana told a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight.
"When you're going through these setbacks, you just feel like there's no hope," says Alana. "Thus to be able to find humor in those stories and hear others tell you more outrageous stories, it's so amazing."
A Confident Legacy
You can clearly sense a change in the band. Now, Haim are more certain of their place in the rock pantheon.
They're festival headliners, with successful albums and an international audience.
But Haim will forever be their number one priority.
"My sisters and I have been performing since I was little," shares Alana. "There is no other path that we were supposed to do. And I'm really grateful we've reached this point and we're still making music."
