🔗 Share this article Everyone Are Encouraged to Join as the Fourth Haim Bandmate. The Band: "Performing as a unit is where our heart and soul will forever be found." "Do you know when you'll be speaking to Haim?" a message pops up. "I wanted to ask if I can be their fourth member." There's just a key snag: The author likewise wants to be the Haims' additional sibling. Furthermore, we are not alone. Several high-profile fans have also petitioned for the honor. It's clear a special quality is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana launched their career playing gigs at neighborhood delis with their parents. Now they're multi-time Grammy contenders. Similar to the best bands, they're a close trio. Their videos frequently show them walking in unison down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they jam with such unfettered happiness you inevitably think, "I want to be involved in that, too." "How often on tour that young girls told us and said, 'Watching you live, I bought a drum kit'," states Alana, the most junior of the trio. "That is the greatest compliment. It is a prize in itself. We've done our job if we can inspire people to form a group." "And thus anyone gets an invitation to be the next part of the family." The group's concert performances have helped them rise to the top of festival bills around Europe. Award Recognition The group have called into home, where they're taking a pause after an lengthy tour in promoting their new album, I Quit. They're presently celebrating the news it's been nominated for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first female band ever in consideration for the trophy. "I tune into the nominations every year, so it almost feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," says Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this correctly or am I dreaming'?" The weight of the honor isn't lost on the sisters. "We deliberately set out to make a rock album this time, so it's a major achievement," says Alana. "However we're just appreciative for the pioneers that inspired us." Emotional Upheaval and Laughter The record emerged from a period of emotional upheaval. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music explores that unique liminal space 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 experienced. You can hear them determining in the moment who they want to be. "I adore way of putting it, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is like a slogan. You have to actively work on shutting out the criticism and saying, 'I don't give what people think'." The band claimed victory in a prestigious new artist survey in 2013, and have since then scored four chart-topping albums. Evolution of Style That newfound confidence required a different sonic direction – more organic and direct than any of the music the band had done before. For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that was founded on the percussion. "Drums are such a nuanced thing, and I care so much about it," she states. "'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our biography," quips Alana. "I always say, our albums won't commence until we find the perfect drum sound." I Quit evolves Haim's trademark blend, mixing guitar-driven rock with contemporary rhythms and catchy pop melodies. Experiences and Collective Laughter The band's openness inspired the album's marketing, where the sisters shared some of their dating misadventures. A former partner broke up with Este over a medical concern. Alana shared a story of flying to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight. "When you're going through these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's no hope," says Alana. "So to be able to share those stories and have them tell you wilder stories, it's so amazing." The group concluded a lengthy tour, but say they plan to tour again in the coming years. An Assured Path You can clearly sense a change in the band. These days, Haim are more confident of their position in the rock pantheon. They're top-billed acts, with chart-topping albums and an worldwide audience. Yet the band will forever be their primary commitment. "We have been playing music since I was a young child," concludes Alana. "There is no other path that we were supposed to do. And I'm really thankful we've made it and we're still going strong."