🔗 Share this article

"When are you chatting with the band?" an inquiry pops up. "I wanted to ask if I can join as their fourth member."

There's just one problem: The sender also longs to be the Haims' additional sibling. And we're in plentiful company. Several high-profile supporters have publicly coveted the role.

One thing is obvious a special quality is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their career doing sets at neighborhood delis with their family. Now they're multiple Grammy Award hopefuls.

Like all the best groups, they're a inseparable gang. Their visuals repeatedly show them striding in harmony down the streets of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such boundless exuberance you inevitably think, "I want to be involved in that, too."

"How often on tour that fans told us and said, 'Watching you live, I got a drum kit'," states Alana, the most junior of the sisters. "That is the greatest honor. It is a prize in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can encourage people to make music."

"And thus everyone is invited to be the fourth Haim sister."

Historic Nod

The group are connecting from their homes, where they're taking a pause after an lengthy tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.

They're right now celebrating the news it's been in the running for a top rock honor at the Grammys – with Haim the first all-female band ever in consideration for the prize.

"I follow the lists every year, so it kind of feels like a surreal movie when your name is announced," says Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this correctly or am I dreaming'?"

The importance of the honor resonates with the trio.

"We truly set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a huge achievement," says Alana. "However we're just appreciative for the pioneers that inspired us."

Heartbreak and Candor

The record came out of a time of emotional upheaval. All three sisters ended up single, and the music explores that odd in-between place where you're glad to be free, but not yet ready to let go.

The lyrics track departures and partings. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've had. You can hear them determining in real time who they are becoming.

"I adore way of putting it, yes," says Danielle. "I Quit is like a mantra. You have to make an effort in blocking the noise and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."

Evolution of Sound

That newfound confidence demanded a different sonic direction – more unpolished and powerful than anything the band had done before.

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

"Drums are such a nuanced thing, and I am so passionate about it," she emphasizes.

"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our biography," laughs Alana. "I always say, our albums cannot begin until we find the ideal drum sound."

Stories and Collective Camaraderie

The band's candor shaped the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters revealed some of their romantic horror stories.

A former partner broke up with Este over a health concern. Alana told a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight.

"Experiencing these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's only darkness," notes Alana. "So to be able to share those stories and hear others tell you more outrageous stories, it's therapeutic."

An Assured Future

You can clearly sense a change in the band. Now, Haim are more confident of their position in the industry.

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

But the band will always be their number one focus.

"We have been playing music since I was a young child," shares Alana. "It feels as if nothing else that we were meant to do. And I'm really thankful we've reached this point and we're still going strong."