🔗 Share this article

"When are you speaking to Haim?" a message reads. "I was hoping to ask if I can be their newest bandmate."

There's just a key snag: The author likewise desires to be Haim's newest recruit. Furthermore, we are far from alone. Several high-profile admirers have also petitioned for the honor.

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

Like all the best ensembles, they're a tight-knit unit. Their visuals repeatedly depict them marching in sync down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they play with such pure joy you find yourself thinking, "I want to be involved in that, too."

"The amount of times on tour that audience members came up to us and said, 'After your show, I got a bass'," says Alana, the most junior of the sisters. "That is the greatest honor. That's an award in itself. We have succeeded if we can motivate people to start a band."

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

Historic Milestone

The band have called into their homes, where they're taking a pause after an lengthy tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.

They're right now reeling from the news it's been nominated for a top rock honor at the Grammys – with Haim the pioneering all-female band ever in contention for the prize.

"I tune into the lists every year, so it kind of feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," says Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this correctly or am I imagining things'?"

The importance of the nomination is deeply felt by the band.

"We deliberately set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a huge milestone," continues Alana. "But we're just appreciative for the pioneers that paved the way."

Heartbreak and Candor

The record emerged from a period of transition. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music explores that strange transitional period where you're glad to be free, but not entirely ready to move on.

The words detail departures and farewells. The sisters want love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them figuring out in real time who they want to be.

"I adore way of putting it, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a slogan. You have to consciously practice blocking the noise and saying, 'I don't give what people think'."

Refinement of Style

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

For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that began with the percussion.

"The drum sound is such a nuanced thing, and I am so passionate about it," she emphasizes.

"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our book," quips Alana. "I've said it, our albums won't commence until we find the perfect drum sound."

Anecdotes and Collective Camaraderie

The band's honesty inspired the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their romantic misadventures.

One man ended things with Este over a medical concern. Alana shared 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," notes Alana. "Therefore to be able to find humor in those stories and hear others tell you more outrageous stories, it's incredible."

A Secure Path

You can clearly sense a change in the band. Now, Haim are more assured of their place in the music world.

They're festival headliners, with hit albums and an worldwide fan base.

However Haim will always be their number one commitment.

"We have been performing since I was little," says Alana. "It's like nothing else that we were supposed to do. And I'm really fortunate we've gotten here and we're still going strong."