Everyone is Encouraged to Join as the Extra Haim Sisters Bandmate.
"When are you speaking to the Haim sisters?" a message arrives. "I wanted to ask if I can be their newest bandmate."
However, there remains one problem: I also longs to be the Haims' additional sibling. What's more, we are not alone. Multiple celebrated admirers have publicly coveted the position.
It's clear a special quality is at play. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their musical journey playing gigs at local delicatessens with their family. Today, they are multiple Grammy hopefuls.
Like all the greatest ensembles, they're a close gang. Their videos often feature them marching in sync down the streets of Los Angeles. In concert, they perform with such pure happiness you can't help but think, "I'd love to be involved in that, too."
"The numerous instances on tour that young girls approached us and said, 'Watching you live, I got a guitar'," says Alana, the most junior of the Haim siblings. "It is the biggest honour. That's an award in itself. We've done our job if we can encourage others to make music."
"Therefore everyone is invited to be the next part of the family."
Grammy Nod
The band are speaking from a break, where they're resting up after an major tour in promoting their latest album, I Quit.
They're currently reeling from the news it's been nominated for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the first female band ever in contention for the prize.
"I follow the announcements every year, so it sort of feels like a surreal movie when your name is read out," notes Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"
The significance of the nomination is deeply felt by the band.
"We truly set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a huge step," says Alana. "But we're just thankful for the pioneers that paved the way."
Emotional Upheaval and Laughter
The project came out of a period of emotional upheaval. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music inhabits that strange liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not yet ready to move on.
The lyrics track breakups and farewells. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've experienced. You can hear them working out in real life who they are becoming.
"I adore description, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is like a personal statement. You have to consciously practice shutting out the outside opinions and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."
Refinement of Sound
That newfound toughness called for a fresh approach – more organic and immediate than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that was founded on the drums.
"The drum sound is such a specific thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she emphasizes.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our memoir," jokes Alana. "Our motto is, our albums won't commence until we find the right drum sound."
Stories and Collective Humor
The trio's honesty inspired the album's rollout, where the sisters shared some of their dating misadventures.
One man left Este over a medical consideration. Alana shared a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.
"When you're going through these breakups, you just feel like there's no hope," says 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 Path
You can clearly sense a evolution in the band. Today, Haim are more assured of their place in the industry.
They're major draws, with successful albums and an global following.
But Haim will forever be their primary commitment.
"Me and my siblings have been performing since I was four," concludes Alana. "It feels as if no alternative that we were meant to do. And I'm really thankful we've made it and we're still going strong."
