Everyone is Invited to Join as the Additional Haim Member.
"Any idea when you're chatting with Haim?" a message pops up. "I was hoping to ask if I can join as their fourth member."
There's just a key snag: The sender also wants to be the Haims' newest recruit. What's more, we are far from alone. A host of high-profile admirers have publicly coveted the honor.
The evidence suggests something is at play. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their career doing sets at neighborhood delis with their parents. Now they're multiple Grammy contenders.
Like all the best groups, they're a close gang. Their music videos often show them walking in sync down the avenues of Los Angeles. In concert, they perform with such pure joy you inevitably think, "I wish to be part of that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that young girls came up to us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I bought a drum kit'," says Alana, the youngest of the trio. "That's the greatest compliment. That is recognition in itself. We have succeeded if we can motivate young girls to start a band."
"And thus everyone is invited to be the fourth Haim sister."
Grammy Recognition
The group are connecting from home, where they're resting up after an extensive tour in support of their fourth album, I Quit.
They're currently reeling from the news it's been shortlisted for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the first female band ever in contention for the trophy.
"I follow the lists every year, so it almost feels like The Truman Show when your name is announced," says Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this right or am I dreaming'?"
The weight of the nomination resonates with the trio.
"We truly set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a significant achievement," adds Alana. "However we're just grateful for the female artists that came before us."
Heartbreak and Candor
The project was born from a period of transition. All three sisters were single, and the music explores that unique in-between place where you're happy to be free, but not entirely ready to start anew.
The lyrics detail endings and farewells. The sisters desire love, but not the kind of love they've had. You can hear them figuring out in real life who they aspire to be.
"That's a perfect way of putting it, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a mantra. You have to consciously practice ignoring the outside opinions and saying, 'I don't give what people think'."
Evolution of Sound
That developed resilience required a fresh approach – more organic and immediate than any of the music the band had done before.
For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that began with the drums.
"Drums are such a nuanced thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she emphasizes.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our biography," laughs Alana. "I always say, our albums cannot begin until we find the right drum sound."
Stories and Shared Laughter
The band's candor shaped the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their personal horror stories.
A former partner left Este over a medical concern. Alana shared a story of travelling to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.
"Experiencing these setbacks, you just feel like there's only darkness," says Alana. "So to be able to laugh at those stories and have them tell you even crazier stories, it's incredible."
An Assured Path
One can easily sense a shift in the band. Today, Haim are more confident of their position in the music world.
They're festival headliners, with chart-topping albums and an worldwide following.
But the band will always be their top priority.
"My sisters and I have been playing music since I was four," shares Alana. "There is no alternative that we were meant to do. And I'm really thankful we've made it and we're still making music."