Everyone Are Encouraged to Join as the Extra Haim Sister.
"Any idea when you're speaking to Haim?" a message arrives. "I wanted to ask if I can join as their fourth member."
There's just one problem: The sender also desires to be Haim's fourth member. And we're not alone. Several celebrated admirers have also coveted the role.
One thing is obvious a special quality is going on. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana began their career playing gigs at small eateries with their parents. Now they're multi-time Grammy Award nominees.
Like all the greatest ensembles, they're a inseparable gang. Their music videos frequently feature them striding in sync down the avenues of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such boundless joy you find yourself thinking, "I want to be involved in that, too."
"The numerous instances on tour that audience members approached us and said, 'Watching you live, I bought a guitar'," remarks Alana, the youngest of the sisters. "It is the ultimate honour. That is recognition in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can motivate people to start a band."
"And thus anyone is invited to be the fourth part of the family."
Grammy Milestone
The group are speaking from a break, where they're recovering after an extensive tour in support of their fourth album, I Quit.
They're presently processing the news it's been in the running for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first female band ever in contention for the trophy.
"I follow the announcements every year, so it sort of feels like a surreal movie when your name is read out," says Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"
The weight of the honor resonates with the band.
"We really set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a significant achievement," continues Alana. "Yet we're just appreciative for the female artists that came before us."
Personal Turmoil and Humour
The project emerged from a period of personal change. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music captures that strange liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not quite ready to move on.
The lyrics track departures and partings. The sisters want love, but not the relationships they've got. You can hear them figuring out in real time who they aspire to be.
"I adore description, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is kind of like a personal statement. You have to make an effort in blocking the noise and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."
Development of Style
That newfound confidence required a different sonic direction – more unpolished and direct than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that began with the percussion.
"Percussion is such a detailed thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she states.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our book," laughs Alana. "I always say, our albums cannot begin until we find the right drum sound."
Experiences and Collective Humor
The band's candor inspired the album's marketing, where the sisters revealed some of their dating misadventures.
Someone ended things with Este over a medical concern. Alana recalled a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight.
"During these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's only darkness," notes Alana. "Therefore to be able to share those stories and have them tell you even crazier stories, it's incredible."
An Assured Path
One can easily sense a evolution in the band. Today, Haim are more certain of their position in the rock pantheon.
They're top-billed acts, with successful albums and an global following.
Yet the band will forever be their primary focus.
"My sisters and I have been playing music since I was four," concludes Alana. "It feels as if nothing else that we were destined for. And I'm really grateful we've gotten here and we're still kicking."
