🔗 Share this article

"Any idea when you're interviewing the band?" a text arrives. "I wanted to ask if I can join as their fourth member."

There's just a single issue: The author likewise wants to be Haim's additional sibling. What's more, we are in plentiful company. A host of famous admirers have publicly coveted the position.

It's clear a special quality is going on. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana launched their musical journey playing gigs at neighborhood delis with their parents. Today, they are multi-time Grammy Award hopefuls.

Similar to the greatest bands, they're a inseparable unit. Their videos repeatedly depict them striding in harmony down the avenues of Los Angeles. On stage, they play with such pure exuberance you can't help but think, "I'd love to be a piece of that, too."

"The numerous instances on tour that audience members told us and said, 'After your show, I got a bass'," says Alana, the youngest of the trio. "That is the greatest compliment. It is a prize in itself. We have succeeded if we can encourage people to start a band."

"And thus anyone are welcome to be the honorary part of the family."

Award Milestone

The band are connecting from their homes, where they're resting up after an lengthy tour in for their new album, I Quit.

They're presently processing the news it's been shortlisted for best rock album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the pioneering female band ever in consideration for the trophy.

"I watch the announcements every year, so it kind of feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is read out," says Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this right or am I dreaming'?"

The importance of the nomination isn't lost on the sisters.

"We really set out to make a rock album this time, so it's a huge achievement," says Alana. "But we're just appreciative for the pioneers that inspired us."

Emotional Upheaval and Laughter

The project was born from a phase of emotional upheaval. All three sisters ended up single, and the music inhabits that unique in-between place where you're relieved to be free, but not quite ready to let go.

The lyrics track breakups and goodbyes. The sisters seek love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them determining in real time who they aspire to be.

"I love summary, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to actively work on blocking the criticism and saying, 'It doesn't matter to me what people think'."

Refinement of Sound

That newfound confidence required a different sonic direction – more raw and immediate than any of the music the band had done before.

For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that was founded on the percussion.

"The drum sound is such a detailed thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she states.

"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our book," laughs Alana. "I always say, our albums won't commence until we find the perfect drum sound."

Stories and Shared Laughter

The band's openness fueled the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters shared some of their romantic horror stories.

A former partner ended things with Este over a medical consideration. Alana shared a story of travelling to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five 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 hear others tell you even crazier stories, it's so amazing."

A Secure Future

It's not difficult sense a evolution in the band. Now, Haim are more assured of their place in the music world.

They're festival headliners, with chart-topping albums and an international audience.

Yet Haim will forever be their number one commitment.

"Me and my siblings have been playing music since I was little," says Alana. "It's like no alternative that we were meant to do. And I'm really fortunate we've gotten here and we're still making music."