The World Are Invited to Join as the Additional Haim Bandmate.
"Do you know when you'll be interviewing the Haim sisters?" a message reads. "I was hoping to ask if I can be their newest bandmate."
There is only a key snag: I also longs to be the Haims' newest recruit. What's more, we are not alone. Several celebrated supporters have publicly petitioned for the role.
One thing is obvious a special quality is happening. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana launched their path performing shows at neighborhood delis with their family. Now they're multi-time Grammy hopefuls.
Similar to the most iconic groups, they're a inseparable unit. Their music videos repeatedly depict them walking in sync down the avenues of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such unfettered joy you inevitably think, "I wish to be part of that, too."
"How often on tour that audience members came up to us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I got a bass'," remarks Alana, the most junior of the trio. "It is the greatest honour. That is recognition in itself. We have succeeded if we can motivate others to start a band."
"And thus everyone is invited to be the next member of Haim."
Award Nod
The trio are connecting from home, where they're taking a pause after an extensive tour in for their new album, I Quit.
They're right now reeling from the news it's been in the running for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the first female band ever in the running for the prize.
"I follow the announcements every year, so it almost feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," explains Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this right or am I hallucinating'?"
The weight of the accolade isn't lost on the sisters.
"We really set out to make a rock album this time, so it's a significant milestone," adds Alana. "However we're just thankful for the women that came before us."
Heartbreak and Humour
The album came out of a period of emotional upheaval. All three sisters ended up single, and the music explores that odd transitional period where you're relieved to be free, but not quite ready to let go.
The lyrics follow endings and partings. The sisters desire love, but not the specific love they've experienced. You can hear them working out in the moment who they want to be.
"I love description, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is kind of like a mantra. You have to make an effort in ignoring the noise and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Refinement of Sound
That newfound resilience required a new sound – more unpolished and direct than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that started with the drums.
"The drum sound is such a nuanced thing, and I care so much about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the title of our memoir," jokes Alana. "Our motto is, our albums cannot begin until we find the perfect drum sound."
Stories and Collective Humor
The trio's candor shaped the album's rollout, where the sisters disclosed some of their personal tales.
Someone broke up with Este over a health concern. Alana told a story of travelling to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.
"Experiencing 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 more outrageous stories, it's therapeutic."
An Assured Future
You can clearly sense a shift in the band. These days, Haim are more confident of their place in the music world.
They're festival headliners, with successful albums and an global fan base.
However the band will always be their primary priority.
"We have been performing since I was a young child," shares Alana. "There is nothing else that we were meant to do. And I'm really thankful we've made it and we're still kicking."
