All Fans is Encouraged to Join as the Extra Haim Sisters Bandmate.
"When are you interviewing the band?" a message pops up. "I was hoping to ask if I can join as their extra sister."
There's just one problem: I also desires to be Haim's newest recruit. And we're not alone. Several high-profile admirers have also coveted the role.
The evidence suggests a special quality is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their career doing sets at neighborhood delis with their parents. Today, they are multi-time Grammy Award nominees.
Like all the greatest groups, they're a tight-knit unit. Their music videos repeatedly feature them walking in harmony down the streets of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such boundless joy you inevitably think, "I'd love to be a piece of that, too."
"How often on tour that audience members came up to us and said, 'Watching you live, I picked up a guitar'," remarks Alana, the youngest of the trio. "That's the greatest honor. It is a prize in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can encourage young girls to form a group."
"And thus anyone are welcome to be the next member of Haim."
Historic Milestone
The trio are connecting from a break, where they're taking a pause after an extensive tour in support of their new album, I Quit.
They're presently celebrating the news it's been shortlisted for a top rock honor at the Grammys – with Haim the pioneering female band ever in contention for the trophy.
"I tune into the nominations every year, so it kind of feels like The Truman Show when your name is announced," says Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this right or am I imagining things'?"
The weight of the honor is deeply felt by the sisters.
"We truly set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a major step," adds Alana. "But we're just thankful for the women that inspired us."
Personal Turmoil and Laughter
The record emerged from a period of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music explores that unique liminal space where you're glad to be free, but not yet ready to let go.
The lyrics follow breakups and farewells. The sisters want love, but not the relationships they've got. You can hear them figuring out in the moment who they aspire to be.
"That's a perfect way of putting it, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is kind of like a mantra. You have to actively work on shutting out the outside opinions and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Development of Sound
That recent resilience called for a different sonic direction – more raw and powerful than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that began with the drum sound.
"Percussion is such a specific thing, and I am so passionate about it," she states.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our biography," quips Alana. "I've said it, our albums cannot begin until we find the perfect drum sound."
Experiences and Collective Laughter
The band's candor fueled the album's marketing, where the sisters disclosed some of their dating misadventures.
Someone ended things with Este over a health consideration. Alana shared a story of travelling to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.
"During these breakups, you just feel like there's no hope," explains Alana. "Therefore to be able to find humor in those stories and have them tell you even crazier stories, it's so amazing."
A Secure Legacy
It's not difficult sense a shift in the band. Today, Haim are more certain of their position in the industry.
They're festival headliners, with chart-topping albums and an global audience.
Yet the band will forever be their primary focus.
"My sisters and I have been playing music since I was a young child," shares Alana. "There is nothing else that we were supposed to do. And I'm really thankful we've made it and we're still making music."