Everyone Are Encouraged to Join as the Extra Haim Sisters Sister.
"Do you know when you'll be interviewing the band?" a text arrives. "I was hoping to ask if I can be their newest bandmate."
There's just a single issue: The author likewise desires to be Haim's newest recruit. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. Several high-profile fans have also petitioned for the role.
The evidence suggests a special quality is happening. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana began their path doing sets at neighborhood delis with their parents. Today, they are multiple Grammy Award hopefuls.
Like all the most iconic ensembles, they're a inseparable unit. Their visuals often feature them marching in unison down the roads of Los Angeles. During performances, they perform with such boundless exuberance you find yourself thinking, "I'd love to be a piece of that, too."
"The numerous instances on tour that young girls approached us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I got a drum kit'," remarks Alana, the most junior of the trio. "That's the biggest compliment. It is a prize in itself. We've done our job if we can inspire people to form a group."
"Therefore all is invited to be the honorary part of the family."
Grammy Recognition
The trio have called into their homes, where they're recovering after an major tour in promoting their fourth album, I Quit.
They're presently processing the news it's been nominated for Best Rock Album at the Grammys – with Haim the very first female band ever in consideration for the award.
"I watch the nominations every year, so it kind of feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is read out," notes Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this correctly or am I imagining things'?"
The weight of the nomination resonates with the sisters.
"We truly set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a huge milestone," adds Alana. "Yet we're just thankful for the pioneers that inspired us."
Emotional Upheaval and Candor
The album came out of a time of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music captures that strange liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not quite ready to start anew.
The words detail endings and farewells. The sisters seek love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them determining in real life who they are becoming.
"I love summary, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is like a mantra. You have to make an effort in blocking the noise and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."
Development of Sound
That newfound resilience demanded a new sound – more raw and powerful than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that began with the percussion.
"Percussion is such a nuanced thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she states.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the title of our memoir," jokes Alana. "I've said it, our albums don't start until we find the ideal drum sound."
Stories and Collective Laughter
The trio's candor inspired the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their dating misadventures.
One man ended things with Este over a medical consideration. Alana told a story of flying to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.
"During these setbacks, you just feel like there's no hope," notes Alana. "So to be able to share those stories and have them tell you wilder stories, it's therapeutic."
An Assured Path
One can easily sense a evolution in the band. Today, Haim are more assured of their standing in the industry.
They're festival headliners, with chart-topping albums and an worldwide fan base.
But Haim will always be their top focus.
"Me and my siblings have been making music since I was four," concludes Alana. "It feels as if no other path that we were supposed to do. And I'm really thankful we've gotten here and we're still making music."