All Fans Are Welcome to Join as the Fourth Haim Member.
"Do you know when you'll be interviewing the band?" a message reads. "I was hoping to ask if I can be their newest bandmate."
There is only a key snag: The sender also longs to be Haim's newest recruit. What's more, we are far from alone. A host of high-profile admirers have publicly begged for the position.
It's clear something is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana launched their career performing shows at neighborhood delis with their parents. Today, they are repeated Grammy Award nominees.
Like all the most iconic bands, they're a tight-knit gang. Their videos repeatedly show them striding in harmony down the avenues of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such boundless happiness you find yourself thinking, "I wish to be involved in that, too."
"The numerous instances on tour that fans came up to us and said, 'After your show, I got a bass'," remarks Alana, the youngest of the trio. "That is the greatest honour. That is recognition in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can motivate young girls to start a band."
"And thus all gets an invitation to be the honorary member of Haim."
Historic Milestone
The band have called into home, where they're taking a pause after an extensive tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.
They're currently reeling from the news it's been nominated for Best Rock Album at the Grammys – with Haim the first all-female band ever in consideration for the award.
"I tune into the nominations 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, 'Am I hearing this right or am I dreaming'?"
The significance of the honor is deeply felt by the band.
"We deliberately set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a major milestone," adds Alana. "However we're just grateful for the pioneers that came before us."
Personal Turmoil and Candor
The record came out of a period of personal change. All three sisters were single, and the music inhabits that unique liminal space where you're glad to be free, but not yet ready to start anew.
The lyrics follow breakups and farewells. The sisters desire love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them figuring out in the moment who they want to be.
"That's a perfect way of putting it, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to make an effort in shutting out the outside opinions and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Evolution of Sound
That newfound resilience demanded a fresh approach – more unpolished and powerful than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that started with the drums.
"Drums are such a specific thing, and I care so much about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our biography," jokes Alana. "I've said it, our albums cannot begin until we find the ideal drum sound."
Stories and Collective Camaraderie
The trio's candor inspired the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their romantic horror stories.
Someone ended things with Este over a medical concern. Alana recalled a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.
"Experiencing these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's no hope," explains Alana. "So to be able to share those stories and hear others tell you wilder stories, it's therapeutic."
A Confident Path
You can clearly sense a evolution in the band. These days, Haim are more certain of their position in the industry.
They're festival headliners, with successful albums and an worldwide audience.
Yet the band will forever be their primary focus.
"We have been performing since I was a young child," concludes Alana. "It's like nothing else that we were meant to do. And I'm really fortunate we've reached this point and we're still going strong."