Everyone Are Invited to Join as the Extra Haim Sisters Sister.
"When are you interviewing Haim?" an inquiry reads. "My request was to ask if I can become their newest bandmate."
There is only a single issue: The author likewise desires to be the Haims' additional sibling. And we're in plentiful company. Multiple celebrated fans have publicly petitioned for the role.
The evidence suggests a special quality is at play. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana began their career doing sets at neighborhood delis with their family. Presently, they stand as multiple Grammy Award contenders.
In the tradition of the best groups, they're a close gang. Their visuals repeatedly depict them walking in unison down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they perform with such pure joy you inevitably think, "I want to be a piece of that, too."
"The numerous instances on tour that audience members told us and said, 'After your show, I picked up a drum kit'," remarks Alana, the youngest of the Haim siblings. "That is the greatest honor. It is a prize in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can encourage young girls to start a band."
"Therefore all gets an invitation to be the honorary part of the family."
Award Nod
The band are speaking from their homes, where they're recovering after an lengthy tour in for their latest album, I Quit.
They're right now reeling from the news it's been in the running for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the pioneering all-female band ever in consideration for the award.
"I follow the lists every year, so it almost feels like a surreal movie when your name is read out," notes Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this right or am I hallucinating'?"
The significance of the honor resonates with the band.
"We deliberately set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a huge milestone," adds Alana. "However we're just appreciative for the female artists that inspired us."
Personal Turmoil and Candor
The album came out of a period of personal change. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music inhabits that odd liminal space where you're glad to be free, but not entirely ready to let go.
The lyrics detail departures and partings. The sisters want love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them figuring out in real life who they want to be.
"I love description, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is like a slogan. You have to actively work on blocking the criticism and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Refinement of Sound
That newfound confidence called for a different sonic direction – more organic and powerful than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that started with the drums.
"Percussion is such a detailed thing, and I care so much about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our book," quips Alana. "Our motto is, our albums cannot begin until we find the ideal drum sound."
Anecdotes and Collective Camaraderie
The trio's honesty inspired the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters shared some of their dating tales.
A former partner left Este over a health consideration. Alana shared a story of travelling to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight.
"Experiencing these breakups, you just feel like there's no light," explains Alana. "Thus to be able to find humor in those stories and hear others tell you wilder stories, it's therapeutic."
A Confident Future
One can easily sense a evolution in the band. Now, Haim are more assured of their place in the rock pantheon.
They're festival headliners, with chart-topping albums and an worldwide fan base.
Yet the band will always be their primary priority.
"My sisters and I have been playing music since I was four," shares Alana. "There is no alternative that we were destined for. And I'm really grateful we've made it and we're still making music."