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"Do you know when you'll be speaking to the band?" a message arrives. "My request was to ask if I can be their fourth member."

There is only one problem: The author likewise wants to be Haim's fourth member. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. Multiple famous supporters have openly coveted the role.

One thing is obvious something is happening. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana launched their path playing gigs at small eateries with their family. Today, they are multi-time Grammy hopefuls.

Like all the best groups, they're a close unit. Their music videos often feature them walking in harmony down the streets of Los Angeles. On stage, they perform with such pure happiness you can't help but think, "I want to be a piece of that, too."

"How often on tour that young girls told us and said, 'Watching you live, I picked up a bass'," states Alana, the most junior of the trio. "That is the ultimate honour. That is recognition in itself. We've done our job if we can motivate people to form a group."

"Therefore everyone gets an invitation to be the honorary Haim sister."

Historic Recognition

The trio have called into their homes, where they're resting up after an extensive tour in support of their latest album, I Quit.

They're currently reeling from the news it's been in the running for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the first all-woman band ever in contention for the prize.

"I watch the announcements every year, so it almost feels like a surreal movie when your name is read out," explains Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"

The importance of the honor is deeply felt by the sisters.

"We truly set out to make a rock album this time, so it's a significant achievement," continues Alana. "But we're just thankful for the women that came before us."

Heartbreak and Humour

The album was born from a period of emotional upheaval. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music inhabits that unique liminal space where you're happy to be free, but not quite ready to move on.

The lyrics follow endings and farewells. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've experienced. You can hear them determining in real life who they aspire to be.

"That's a perfect way of putting it, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is kind of like a mantra. You have to consciously practice blocking the noise and saying, 'I don't give what people think'."

Evolution of Music

That developed resilience required a fresh approach – more unpolished and immediate than any of the music the band had done before.

For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that started with the percussion.

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

"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our book," quips Alana. "Our motto is, our albums cannot begin until we find the ideal drum sound."

Stories and Shared Laughter

The trio's openness shaped the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their personal misadventures.

Someone ended things with Este over a health consideration. Alana recalled a story of flying to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.

"When you're going through these breakups, you just feel like there's no hope," says Alana. "So to be able to laugh at those stories and have them tell you more outrageous stories, it's therapeutic."

A Secure Path

One can easily sense a evolution in the band. Now, Haim are more confident of their standing in the rock pantheon.

They're top-billed acts, with hit albums and an international audience.

Yet the sister act will always be their top commitment.

"We have been playing music since I was little," says Alana. "It's like no other path that we were destined for. And I'm really grateful we've made it and we're still going strong."