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"Do you know when you'll be speaking to the Haim sisters?" an inquiry pops up. "I was hoping to ask if I can join as their fourth member."

However, there remains one problem: The sender also wants to be the Haims' fourth member. What's more, we are in plentiful company. Multiple high-profile admirers have also coveted the role.

The evidence suggests a special quality is going on. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana launched their career doing sets at small eateries with their parents. Presently, they stand as repeated Grammy Award nominees.

In the tradition of the greatest groups, they're a tight-knit unit. Their music videos repeatedly feature them marching in unison down the avenues of Los Angeles. During performances, they jam with such pure happiness you can't help but think, "I want to be involved in that, too."

"The amount of times on tour that young girls approached us and said, 'Watching you live, I bought a guitar'," states Alana, the most junior of the sisters. "That is the greatest honour. 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 fourth Haim sister."

Historic Recognition

The group are connecting from home, where they're recovering after an lengthy tour in for their fourth album, I Quit.

They're presently processing the news it's been shortlisted for Best Rock Album at the Grammys – with Haim the first all-woman band ever in the running for the award.

"I tune into the nominations every year, so it almost feels like The Truman Show when your name is read out," notes Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"

The significance of the nomination resonates with the sisters.

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

Emotional Upheaval and Candor

The project emerged from a time of personal change. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music explores that odd in-between place where you're relieved to be free, but not yet ready to let go.

The lyrics follow departures and partings. The sisters seek love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them figuring out in real time who they aspire to be.

"I love description, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is like a personal statement. You have to consciously practice shutting out the outside opinions and saying, 'I don't give what people think'."

Development of Style

That recent resilience required a fresh approach – more raw and powerful than anything the band had done before.

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

"The drum sound is such a detailed thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she emphasizes.

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

Anecdotes and Shared Camaraderie

The band's honesty fueled the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters shared some of their romantic misadventures.

A former partner left Este over a medical concern. Alana told a story of travelling 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 no hope," notes Alana. "So to be able to find humor in those stories and have them tell you more outrageous stories, it's therapeutic."

A Secure Legacy

You can clearly sense a evolution in the band. Today, Haim are more certain of their standing in the rock pantheon.

They're major draws, with hit albums and an international audience.

Yet the sister act will always be their top focus.

"My sisters and I have been making music since I was little," concludes Alana. "It feels as if no other path that we were meant to do. And I'm really fortunate we've made it and we're still kicking."