The World is Invited to Become the Fourth Haim Sisters Sister.
"Any idea when you're interviewing Haim?" a message reads. "I wanted to ask if I can be their fourth member."
However, there remains a single issue: The author likewise wants to be the Haims' fourth member. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. Multiple famous supporters have openly coveted the role.
One thing is obvious a special quality is happening. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their path playing gigs at small eateries with their family. Now they're repeated Grammy Award hopefuls.
Similar to the most iconic ensembles, they're a close unit. Their music videos often show them marching in sync down the avenues of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such unfettered exuberance you inevitably think, "I wish to be a piece of that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that young girls approached us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I bought a bass'," says Alana, the most junior of the sisters. "That is the ultimate compliment. It is a prize in itself. We have succeeded if we can motivate young girls to start a band."
"Therefore everyone is invited to be the honorary part of the family."
Award Nod
The group are connecting from home, where they're taking a pause after an lengthy tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.
They're presently processing the news it's been in the running for Best Rock Album at the Grammys β with Haim the first all-woman band ever in contention for the award.
"I follow the lists every year, so it sort of feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," notes Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"
The significance of the honor is deeply felt by the trio.
"We deliberately set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a significant achievement," says Alana. "Yet we're just grateful for the female artists that paved the way."
Emotional Upheaval and Humour
The album emerged from a time of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music inhabits that strange liminal space where you're relieved to be free, but not entirely ready to start anew.
The themes detail breakups and partings. The sisters seek love, but not the relationships they've had. You can hear them determining in real life who they are becoming.
"I love description, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a mantra. You have to actively work on shutting out the outside opinions and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."
Refinement of Music
That recent confidence required a different sonic direction β more organic and powerful than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that started with the percussion.
"Drums are such a specific thing, and I care so much about it," she states.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the title of our biography," quips Alana. "I've said it, our albums don't start until we find the right drum sound."
Anecdotes and Shared Humor
The band's openness fueled the album's rollout, where the sisters disclosed some of their romantic misadventures.
A former partner left Este over a health concern. Alana told a story of travelling to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.
"During these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's no light," says Alana. "Therefore to be able to laugh at those stories and hear others tell you even crazier stories, it's incredible."
An Assured Path
One can easily sense a evolution in the band. Now, Haim are more assured of their standing in the music world.
They're major draws, with chart-topping albums and an international following.
However the band will consistently be their top commitment.
"We have been making music since I was little," concludes Alana. "There is nothing else that we were supposed to do. And I'm really thankful we've reached this point and we're still going strong."