Everyone is Encouraged to Join as the Extra Haim Sisters Sister.
"Do you know when you'll be interviewing the Haim sisters?" an inquiry reads. "I wanted to ask if I can be their extra sister."
There's just a single issue: The sender also longs to be Haim's fourth member. And we're in plentiful company. Several famous admirers have openly petitioned for the position.
One thing is obvious a special quality is at play. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana started their path doing sets at small eateries with their family. Presently, they stand as multi-time Grammy Award contenders.
In the tradition of the best bands, they're a tight-knit trio. Their music videos repeatedly depict them striding in unison down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they perform with such boundless exuberance you inevitably think, "I wish to be part of that, too."
"The numerous instances on tour that audience members told us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I got a drum kit'," remarks Alana, the most junior of the Haim siblings. "That's the ultimate compliment. That's an award in itself. We've done our job if we can encourage young girls to make music."
"So all gets an invitation to be the next member of Haim."
Historic Milestone
The group are speaking from a break, where they're resting up after an extensive tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.
They're presently reeling from the news it's been shortlisted for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the first female band ever in contention for the prize.
"I watch the announcements every year, so it almost feels like The Truman Show when your name is announced," explains Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"
The weight of the honor resonates with the trio.
"We really set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a major milestone," adds Alana. "But we're just thankful for the women that paved the way."
Emotional Upheaval and Laughter
The record came out of a period of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music captures that odd in-between place where you're relieved to be free, but not entirely ready to let go.
The themes detail breakups and partings. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've got. You can hear them determining in the moment who they are becoming.
"I adore summary, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to consciously practice shutting out the criticism and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."
Development of Music
That developed confidence demanded a different sonic direction – more unpolished and direct than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that started with the drum sound.
"The drum sound is such a nuanced thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she states.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our memoir," laughs Alana. "Our motto is, our albums cannot begin until we find the right drum sound."
Stories and Collective Laughter
The band's openness fueled the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters revealed some of their romantic misadventures.
One man left Este over a medical concern. Alana told a story of flying to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight.
"When you're going through these breakups, you just feel like there's no light," says Alana. "Therefore to be able to find humor in those stories and have them tell you more outrageous stories, it's so amazing."
An Assured Future
You can clearly sense a shift in the band. Today, Haim are more assured of their position in the music world.
They're top-billed acts, with chart-topping albums and an global audience.
Yet Haim will always be their primary focus.
"My sisters and I have been playing music since I was a young child," says Alana. "It's like no other path that we were destined for. And I'm really fortunate we've gotten here and we're still kicking."
