All Fans Are Invited to Be the Fourth Haim Sisters Member.
"Any idea when you're speaking to the Haim sisters?" a message reads. "My request was to ask if I can join as their newest bandmate."
However, there remains a single issue: The author likewise longs to be the Haims' newest recruit. And we're in plentiful company. Several celebrated admirers have publicly begged for the honor.
One thing is obvious a special quality is going on. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana started their career doing sets at small eateries with their family. Now they're multi-time Grammy Award hopefuls.
In the tradition of the greatest ensembles, they're a tight-knit trio. Their visuals repeatedly show them marching in sync down the avenues of Los Angeles. In concert, they jam with such pure exuberance you can't help but think, "I'd love to be a piece of that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that fans came up to us and said, 'Watching you live, I got a bass'," remarks Alana, the youngest of the trio. "That is the greatest honour. That is recognition in itself. We have succeeded if we can motivate people to form a group."
"So anyone gets an invitation to be the next member of Haim."
Award Recognition
The group are connecting from their homes, where they're resting up after an lengthy tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.
They're currently celebrating the news it's been shortlisted for Best Rock Album at the Grammys – with Haim the pioneering female band ever in consideration for the award.
"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, 'Am I hearing this right or am I dreaming'?"
The importance of the honor resonates with the band.
"We truly set out to make a rock album this time, so it's a significant achievement," continues Alana. "However we're just appreciative for the female artists that came before us."
Personal Turmoil and Humour
The album came out of a period of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music explores that unique transitional period where you're happy to be free, but not entirely ready to move on.
The lyrics detail departures and farewells. The sisters desire love, but not the kind of love they've experienced. You can hear them determining in real time who they aspire to be.
"That's a perfect summary, yes," says Danielle. "I Quit is like a slogan. You have to actively work on shutting out the criticism and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Refinement of Sound
That developed toughness called for a different sonic direction – more raw and immediate than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that was founded on the drums.
"Percussion is such a specific thing, and I am so passionate about it," she emphasizes.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our biography," quips Alana. "I've said it, our albums won't commence until we find the right drum sound."
Anecdotes and Shared Humor
The trio's openness inspired the album's marketing, where the sisters disclosed some of their romantic horror stories.
Someone left Este over a health consideration. Alana recalled a story of travelling to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.
"Experiencing these breakups, you just feel like there's no light," says Alana. "Therefore to be able to share those stories and have them tell you even crazier stories, it's incredible."
A Secure Path
One can easily sense a shift in the band. These days, Haim are more assured of their standing in the rock pantheon.
They're top-billed acts, with chart-topping albums and an international fan base.
Yet the band will forever be their primary priority.
"Me and my siblings have been playing music since I was four," says Alana. "There is nothing else that we were meant to do. And I'm really grateful we've gotten here and we're still going strong."