🔗 Share this article

"Any idea when you're interviewing the band?" a text pops up. "I wanted to ask if I can be their fourth member."

However, there remains one problem: I also longs to be the Haims' fourth member. What's more, we are not alone. A host of celebrated fans have publicly petitioned for the role.

One thing is obvious a special quality is happening. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana began their musical journey doing sets at neighborhood delis with their parents. Today, they are repeated Grammy Award contenders.

Like all the greatest ensembles, they're a inseparable trio. Their music videos frequently feature them striding in unison down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they jam with such pure joy you can't help but think, "I wish to be part of that, too."

"How often on tour that fans approached us and said, 'Watching you live, I got a guitar'," states Alana, the most junior of the trio. "That is the biggest honor. It is a prize in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can motivate young girls to start a band."

"So anyone is invited to be the fourth part of the family."

Historic Milestone

The band have called into a break, where they're recovering after an major tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.

They're right now celebrating the news it's been nominated for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first all-woman band ever in the running for the award.

"I follow the lists every year, so it kind of feels like The Truman Show when your name is read out," says Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"

The weight of the honor isn't lost on the sisters.

"We really set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a significant step," adds Alana. "But we're just thankful for the women that inspired us."

Emotional Upheaval and Laughter

The album came out of a phase of personal change. All three sisters ended up single, and the music inhabits that odd liminal space where you're glad to be free, but not quite ready to move on.

The themes detail endings and goodbyes. The sisters desire love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them determining in real time who they are becoming.

"That's a perfect description, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is kind of like a slogan. You have to actively work on blocking the criticism and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."

Evolution of Style

That developed confidence required a fresh approach – more raw 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 specific thing, and I care so much about it," she states.

"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the title of our memoir," laughs Alana. "I always say, our albums cannot begin until we find the perfect drum sound."

Anecdotes and Shared Humor

The band's openness fueled the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their dating misadventures.

One man broke up with Este over a medical consideration. Alana recalled a story of flying to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.

"During these breakups, you just feel like there's only darkness," notes Alana. "So to be able to find humor in those stories and hear others tell you wilder stories, it's incredible."

A Confident Path

You can clearly sense a shift in the band. These days, Haim are more assured of their place in the rock pantheon.

They're major draws, with chart-topping albums and an international following.

But the band will forever be their top commitment.

"My sisters and I have been performing since I was four," says Alana. "It's like nothing else that we were supposed to do. And I'm really grateful we've reached this point and we're still making music."