🔗 Share this article

"When are you speaking to the band?" a message arrives. "I wanted to ask if I can become their fourth member."

However, there remains a single issue: I also wants to be the Haims' fourth member. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. Several celebrated admirers have openly begged for the role.

It's clear something is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their career performing shows at local delicatessens with their family. Today, they are repeated Grammy Award contenders.

Similar to the most iconic groups, they're a tight-knit unit. Their music videos often show them walking in sync down the streets of Los Angeles. In concert, they perform with such boundless happiness you find yourself thinking, "I wish to be involved in that, too."

"The numerous instances on tour that audience members told us and said, 'After your show, I bought a bass'," says Alana, the youngest of the sisters. "It is the biggest honour. That's an award in itself. We've done our job if we can inspire others to make music."

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

Grammy Recognition

The group have called into home, where they're resting up after an major tour in promoting their new album, I Quit.

They're currently celebrating the news it's been in the running for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the pioneering all-female band ever in contention for the award.

"I watch the announcements every year, so it kind of feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is announced," notes Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this right or am I hallucinating'?"

The importance of the honor resonates with the sisters.

"We deliberately set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a significant achievement," adds Alana. "Yet we're just appreciative for the pioneers that paved the way."

Emotional Upheaval and Candor

The album emerged from a period of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music captures that odd transitional period where you're relieved to be free, but not entirely ready to let go.

The themes follow departures and partings. The sisters seek love, but not the relationships they've got. You can hear them determining in real life who they want to be.

"That's a perfect description, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is like a mantra. You have to actively work on ignoring the outside opinions and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."

Refinement of Music

That developed confidence demanded a new sound – more raw and immediate than anything the band had done before.

For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that was founded on the drum sound.

"Percussion is such a detailed thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she emphasizes.

"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the title of our book," quips Alana. "Our motto is, our albums won't commence until we find the perfect drum sound."

Stories and Collective Laughter

The band's openness shaped the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters disclosed some of their dating misadventures.

One man left Este over a health concern. Alana told a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.

"Experiencing these setbacks, you just feel like there's only darkness," explains Alana. "Therefore to be able to find humor in those stories and hear others tell you wilder stories, it's so amazing."

A Confident Path

One can easily sense a shift in the band. These days, Haim are more confident of their place in the industry.

They're festival headliners, with chart-topping albums and an global fan base.

However the sister act will forever be their top priority.

"We have been playing music since I was little," says Alana. "It feels as if no alternative that we were supposed to do. And I'm really fortunate we've gotten here and we're still going strong."