Everyone Are Encouraged to Join as the Additional Haim Sisters Member.
"Any idea when you're speaking to the band?" a text reads. "I was hoping to ask if I can become their fourth member."
However, there remains a single issue: I also longs to be Haim's fourth member. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. A host of famous fans have publicly coveted the position.
One thing is obvious a special quality is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana launched their musical journey playing gigs at small eateries with their family. Today, they are repeated Grammy Award nominees.
Like all the greatest ensembles, they're a inseparable gang. Their visuals often feature them striding in unison down the streets of Los Angeles. During performances, they perform with such pure exuberance you can't help but think, "I want to be involved in that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that fans came up to us and said, 'Watching you live, I bought a drum kit'," says Alana, the youngest of the trio. "That is the biggest honour. That's an award in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can inspire people to start a band."
"And thus anyone is invited to be the next Haim sister."
Historic Nod
The trio are connecting from a break, where they're recovering after an major tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.
They're currently reeling from the news it's been in the running for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the first female band ever in the running for the trophy.
"I watch the lists every year, so it almost feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," notes Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this right or am I imagining things'?"
The importance of the accolade resonates with the band.
"We deliberately set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a huge achievement," adds Alana. "But we're just thankful for the pioneers that inspired us."
Personal Turmoil and Laughter
The record was born from a time of emotional upheaval. All three sisters ended up single, and the music captures that strange liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not entirely ready to move on.
The themes detail breakups and goodbyes. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've got. You can hear them figuring out in real life who they are becoming.
"I love description, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a mantra. You have to make an effort in ignoring the noise and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Refinement of Sound
That recent toughness demanded a new sound – more organic and powerful than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that began with the percussion.
"Drums are such a nuanced thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she states.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our memoir," quips Alana. "Our motto is, our albums cannot begin until we find the perfect drum sound."
Anecdotes and Collective Laughter
The trio's candor inspired the album's rollout, where the sisters shared some of their dating horror stories.
Someone ended things with Este over a health concern. Alana told a story of travelling 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 only darkness," explains Alana. "Thus to be able to laugh at those stories and have them tell you more outrageous stories, it's so amazing."
An Assured Path
You can clearly sense a change in the band. Today, Haim are more certain of their standing in the rock pantheon.
They're festival headliners, with chart-topping albums and an international audience.
Yet Haim will forever be their primary focus.
"My sisters and I have been making music since I was four," concludes Alana. "There is no alternative that we were destined for. And I'm really thankful we've gotten here and we're still making music."