All Fans is Encouraged to Join as the Additional Haim Member.
"Do you know when you'll be chatting with Haim?" a message reads. "I was hoping to ask if I can join as their fourth member."
There is only a key snag: I also longs to be Haim's fourth member. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. Multiple famous admirers have also begged for the position.
The evidence suggests a special quality is happening. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their path doing sets at small eateries with their parents. Today, they are repeated Grammy Award hopefuls.
Similar to the greatest groups, they're a inseparable unit. Their videos often depict them marching in harmony down the roads of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such boundless joy you find yourself thinking, "I'd love to be involved in that, too."
"How often on tour that audience members approached us and said, 'Watching you live, I got a guitar'," remarks Alana, the youngest of the Haim siblings. "That is the greatest honour. That is recognition in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can inspire others to start a band."
"Therefore all gets an invitation to be the next Haim sister."
Award Nod
The group have called into home, where they're recovering after an lengthy tour in promoting their new album, I Quit.
They're presently reeling from the news it's been nominated for best rock album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first female band ever in contention for the trophy.
"I follow the announcements every year, so it sort of feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," says Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"
The importance of the nomination isn't lost on the band.
"We really set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a major achievement," says Alana. "Yet we're just appreciative for the pioneers that came before us."
Heartbreak and Humour
The project was born from a phase of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music inhabits that unique transitional period where you're happy to be free, but not entirely ready to let go.
The words follow breakups and farewells. The sisters seek love, but not the kind of love they've had. You can hear them determining in real life who they want to be.
"I love summary, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a slogan. You have to actively work on ignoring the criticism and saying, 'I don't give what people think'."
Evolution of Style
That developed resilience demanded a different sonic direction – more organic and direct than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that was founded on the percussion.
"Drums are such a detailed thing, and I care so much about it," she states.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our book," quips Alana. "I always say, our albums won't commence until we find the perfect drum sound."
Stories and Collective Humor
The trio's openness inspired the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters shared some of their romantic horror stories.
Someone broke up with Este over a health concern. Alana told a story of flying to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight.
"During these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's no hope," notes Alana. "Therefore to be able to laugh at those stories and have them tell you wilder stories, it's therapeutic."
A Confident Future
You can clearly sense a change in the band. Now, Haim are more certain of their position in the industry.
They're major draws, with chart-topping albums and an global audience.
However Haim will always be their number one focus.
"We have been making music since I was four," concludes Alana. "It feels as if nothing else that we were destined for. And I'm really grateful we've reached this point and we're still going strong."