Everyone is Encouraged to Join as the Additional Haim Sisters Bandmate.
"When are you speaking to the band?" an inquiry arrives. "I was hoping to ask if I can become their extra sister."
However, there remains a single issue: The sender also wants to be Haim's fourth member. And we're in plentiful company. Multiple famous fans have also begged for the honor.
The evidence suggests something is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana launched their career doing sets at neighborhood delis with their family. Presently, they stand as multi-time Grammy contenders.
Like all the most iconic groups, they're a tight-knit unit. Their music videos repeatedly show them marching in harmony down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they jam with such pure joy you inevitably think, "I'd love to be a piece of that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that audience members came up to us and said, 'Watching you live, I got a drum kit'," states Alana, the youngest of the Haim siblings. "It is the biggest honour. That is recognition in itself. We have succeeded if we can encourage others to make music."
"And thus anyone gets an invitation to be the honorary Haim sister."
Grammy Recognition
The band are connecting from home, where they're taking a pause after an extensive tour in for their new album, I Quit.
They're currently celebrating the news it's been in the running for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first all-female band ever in consideration for the prize.
"I watch the lists every year, so it almost feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," explains Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this right or am I dreaming'?"
The weight of the accolade resonates with the sisters.
"We deliberately set out to make a rock album this time, so it's a major achievement," continues Alana. "But we're just appreciative for the women that came before us."
Personal Turmoil and Candor
The album emerged from a period of personal change. All three sisters ended up single, and the music explores that strange liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not entirely ready to move on.
The words detail departures and farewells. The sisters seek love, but not the kind of love they've experienced. You can hear them working out in real time who they aspire to be.
"I adore way of putting it, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a slogan. You have to make an effort in blocking the noise and saying, 'I don't give what people think'."
Development of Music
That developed resilience called for a different sonic direction – more unpolished and powerful than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that was founded on the percussion.
"Drums are such a specific thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she emphasizes.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our book," jokes Alana. "Our motto is, our albums don't start until we find the perfect drum sound."
Experiences and Collective Humor
The band's honesty shaped the album's rollout, where the sisters shared some of their personal misadventures.
One man broke up with Este over a health concern. Alana shared a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.
"When you're going through these setbacks, you just feel like there's no hope," notes Alana. "Therefore to be able to find humor in those stories and have them tell you wilder stories, it's incredible."
A Confident Legacy
You can clearly sense a evolution in the band. Today, Haim are more assured of their standing in the music world.
They're top-billed acts, with hit albums and an worldwide following.
However Haim will forever be their primary focus.
"My sisters and I have been making music since I was a young child," concludes Alana. "It feels as if no other path that we were supposed to do. And I'm really grateful we've gotten here and we're still going strong."