All Fans Are Invited to Become the Additional Haim Bandmate.
"Do you know when you'll be interviewing the Haim sisters?" a text pops up. "I wanted to ask if I can become their newest bandmate."
There's just one problem: The sender also desires to be Haim's fourth member. What's more, we are in plentiful company. A host of famous admirers have also begged for the role.
One thing is obvious something is happening. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their career performing shows at small eateries with their family. Presently, they stand as repeated Grammy Award hopefuls.
In the tradition of the best bands, they're a close gang. Their music videos often feature them walking in sync down the streets of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such unfettered happiness you inevitably think, "I'd love to be a piece of that, too."
"How often on tour that fans came up to us and said, 'Watching you live, I picked up a drum kit'," remarks Alana, the youngest of the Haim siblings. "That's the greatest compliment. It is a prize in itself. We've done our job if we can motivate others to make music."
"And thus anyone is invited to be the fourth part of the family."
Historic Milestone
The group are connecting from home, where they're taking a pause after an lengthy tour in for their new album, I Quit.
They're right now celebrating the news it's been in the running for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the first female band ever in contention for the trophy.
"I follow the nominations every year, so it sort of feels like The Truman Show when your name is read out," says Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this right or am I imagining things'?"
The significance of the accolade is deeply felt by the trio.
"We deliberately set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a significant milestone," adds Alana. "However we're just appreciative for the women that came before us."
Heartbreak and Humour
The record came out of a time of personal change. All three sisters were single, and the music explores that unique liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not yet ready to start anew.
The words detail departures and farewells. The sisters want love, but not the kind of love they've got. You can hear them working out in the moment who they aspire to be.
"I adore way of putting it, yes," says Danielle. "I Quit is like a personal statement. You have to actively work on shutting out the noise and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."
Evolution of Music
That newfound resilience required a different sonic direction – more unpolished and immediate than anything 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 am so passionate about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the title of our biography," quips Alana. "Our motto is, our albums don't start until we find the right drum sound."
Stories and Shared Humor
The trio's honesty inspired the album's marketing, where the sisters disclosed some of their romantic horror stories.
Someone ended things with Este over a health concern. Alana shared a story of travelling to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.
"Experiencing these setbacks, you just feel like there's no light," notes Alana. "Therefore to be able to find humor in those stories and hear others tell you even crazier stories, it's so amazing."
A Confident Path
It's not difficult sense a shift in the band. Today, Haim are more assured of their standing in the rock pantheon.
They're festival headliners, with hit albums and an global audience.
However the band will always be their number one priority.
"My sisters and I have been making music since I was four," concludes Alana. "It feels as if no alternative that we were meant to do. And I'm really thankful we've made it and we're still going strong."
