Everyone is Welcome to Join as the Additional Haim Sisters Sister.
"Do you know when you'll be chatting with the band?" an inquiry pops up. "My request was to ask if I can become their fourth member."
There is only a single issue: I also desires to be the Haims' additional sibling. And we're not alone. Several celebrated supporters have publicly begged for the role.
One thing is obvious something is at play. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana launched their musical journey playing gigs at neighborhood delis with their family. Today, they are multiple Grammy hopefuls.
Similar to the greatest ensembles, they're a close gang. Their visuals repeatedly feature them walking in harmony down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they play with such boundless exuberance you inevitably think, "I'd love to be involved in that, too."
"How often on tour that fans came up to us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I picked up a drum kit'," states Alana, the most junior of the Haim siblings. "That is the biggest honor. That's an award in itself. We've done our job if we can encourage others to make music."
"So all gets an invitation to be the next Haim sister."
Grammy Nod
The group have called into a break, where they're recovering after an lengthy tour in promoting their new album, I Quit.
They're presently reeling from the news it's been shortlisted for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first female band ever in the running for the prize.
"I watch the lists every year, so it kind of feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," notes Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"
The weight of the nomination isn't lost on the band.
"We really set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a major step," continues Alana. "Yet we're just grateful for the female artists that inspired us."
Emotional Upheaval and Humour
The project was born from a period of personal change. All three sisters were single, and the music explores that strange transitional period where you're relieved to be free, but not entirely ready to let go.
The words track departures and farewells. The sisters want love, but not the kind of love they've experienced. You can hear them working out in real life who they aspire to be.
"That's a perfect way of putting it, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a slogan. You have to consciously practice shutting out the criticism and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Evolution of Music
That newfound confidence required a different sonic direction – more unpolished and immediate than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that started with the drum sound.
"Percussion is such a detailed thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our memoir," jokes Alana. "I always say, our albums cannot begin until we find the perfect drum sound."
Anecdotes and Collective Camaraderie
The trio's honesty inspired the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters disclosed some of their romantic horror stories.
One man broke up with Este over a health concern. Alana shared a story of travelling 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 light," explains Alana. "Therefore to be able to laugh at those stories and hear others tell you more outrageous stories, it's incredible."
A Secure Legacy
One can easily sense a shift in the band. Now, Haim are more confident of their place in the rock pantheon.
They're festival headliners, with hit albums and an global audience.
Yet the sister act will forever be their number one priority.
"Me and my siblings have been playing music since I was little," says Alana. "There is no alternative that we were supposed to do. And I'm really fortunate we've reached this point and we're still making music."
