Everyone Are Encouraged to Join as the Fourth Haim Sisters Sister.
"Any idea when you're interviewing Haim?" an inquiry arrives. "I was hoping to ask if I can become their fourth member."
There is only one problem: The sender also wants to be the Haims' additional sibling. What's more, we are far from alone. Several famous admirers have publicly petitioned for the position.
One thing is obvious something is happening. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana began their career playing gigs at local delicatessens with their parents. Now they're repeated Grammy Award contenders.
Like all the most iconic ensembles, they're a tight-knit trio. Their videos repeatedly show them walking in sync down the roads of Los Angeles. On stage, they play with such unfettered joy you find yourself thinking, "I'd love to be a piece of that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that audience members came up to us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I got a bass'," states Alana, the youngest of the trio. "That is the ultimate honour. It is a prize in itself. We've done our job if we can encourage people to form a group."
"So anyone is invited to be the fourth part of the family."
Award Nod
The band have called into their homes, where they're recovering after an extensive tour in promoting their new album, I Quit.
They're currently celebrating the news it's been shortlisted for Best Rock Album at the Grammys – with Haim the pioneering all-woman band ever in consideration for the award.
"I follow the lists every year, so it almost feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is announced," notes Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this correctly or am I dreaming'?"
The weight of the accolade isn't lost on the trio.
"We really set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a significant milestone," says Alana. "Yet we're just grateful for the female artists that came before us."
Emotional Upheaval and Candor
The album emerged from a period of personal change. All three sisters were single, and the music captures that strange liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not entirely ready to let go.
The words follow breakups and farewells. The sisters desire love, but not the kind of love they've had. You can hear them working out in real time who they aspire to be.
"I love way of putting it, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is kind of like a mantra. You have to actively work on ignoring the noise and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Refinement of Music
That developed resilience demanded a fresh approach – more raw and direct than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that was founded on the drums.
"Percussion is such a specific thing, and I care so much about it," she emphasizes.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our memoir," quips Alana. "I always say, our albums cannot begin until we find the ideal drum sound."
Anecdotes and Shared Humor
The trio's honesty fueled the album's marketing, where the sisters revealed some of their personal misadventures.
A former partner left Este over a medical concern. Alana recalled a story of travelling to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.
"During these breakups, you just feel like there's no light," notes Alana. "Thus to be able to share those stories and hear others tell you more outrageous stories, it's so amazing."
An Assured Future
It's not difficult sense a shift in the band. Today, Haim are more assured of their position in the rock pantheon.
They're top-billed acts, with successful albums and an global fan base.
However Haim will always be their top commitment.
"Me and my siblings have been playing music since I was a young child," says Alana. "There is nothing else that we were destined for. And I'm really grateful we've reached this point and we're still making music."
