Everyone Are Welcome to Join as the Fourth Haim Sisters Sister.
"When are you speaking to the band?" a text reads. "I was hoping to ask if I can be their extra sister."
There is only a single issue: I also wants to be Haim's newest recruit. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. Several celebrated admirers have publicly coveted the position.
It's clear a special quality is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana launched their career doing sets at neighborhood delis with their parents. Presently, they stand as repeated Grammy Award hopefuls.
Like all the best groups, they're a close gang. Their videos often show them walking in sync down the streets of Los Angeles. In concert, they perform with such pure happiness you find yourself thinking, "I want to be part of that, too."
"The numerous instances on tour that fans approached us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I got a guitar'," states Alana, the most junior of the trio. "It is the biggest honor. That's an award in itself. We have succeeded if we can motivate others to start a band."
"And thus anyone gets an invitation to be the honorary Haim sister."
Award Nod
The trio are connecting from their homes, where they're taking a pause after an extensive tour in promoting their new album, I Quit.
They're presently celebrating the news it's been shortlisted for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first all-woman band ever in consideration for the trophy.
"I watch the nominations every year, so it kind of feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is announced," explains Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this right or am I hallucinating'?"
The significance of the honor resonates with the sisters.
"We really set out to make a rock album this time, so it's a significant achievement," adds Alana. "However we're just thankful for the female artists that came before us."
Personal Turmoil and Candor
The project came out of a period of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music explores that unique transitional period where you're relieved to be free, but not entirely ready to let go.
The words follow breakups and partings. The sisters desire love, but not the specific love they've got. You can hear them working out in real time who they aspire to be.
"That's a perfect description, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is like a personal statement. You have to make an effort in shutting out the noise and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."
Evolution of Style
That recent toughness demanded a fresh approach – more unpolished and powerful than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that began with the drum sound.
"The drum sound is such a specific thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she states.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our book," laughs Alana. "Our motto is, our albums won't commence until we find the right drum sound."
Stories and Shared Camaraderie
The trio's candor fueled the album's rollout, where the sisters shared some of their romantic misadventures.
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," notes Alana. "So to be able to find humor in those stories and hear others tell you even crazier stories, it's therapeutic."
A Confident Legacy
You can clearly sense a change in the band. Today, Haim are more confident of their place in the industry.
They're festival headliners, with chart-topping albums and an international audience.
However the band will forever be their primary priority.
"We have been making music since I was little," says Alana. "It feels as if nothing else that we were destined for. And I'm really thankful we've made it and we're still kicking."