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"Do you know when you'll be chatting with the Haim sisters?" a message arrives. "I was hoping to ask if I can join as their fourth member."

There's just a key snag: The sender also desires to be the Haims' newest recruit. And we're in plentiful company. Several high-profile admirers have openly begged for the role.

The evidence suggests a special quality is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their path doing sets at neighborhood delis with their family. Now they're multiple Grammy Award contenders.

Like all the most iconic bands, they're a tight-knit trio. Their music videos repeatedly depict them marching in unison down the avenues of Los Angeles. In concert, they play with such pure joy you can't help but think, "I'd love to be part of that, too."

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

"Therefore all is invited to be the honorary part of the family."

Historic Recognition

The trio have called into their homes, where they're taking a pause after an major tour in for their new album, I Quit.

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

"I tune into the lists every year, so it kind of feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is announced," explains Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"

The importance of the honor resonates with the trio.

"We truly set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a major step," continues Alana. "However we're just grateful for the women that came before us."

Heartbreak and Candor

The record was born from a period of emotional upheaval. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music inhabits that odd transitional period where you're relieved to be free, but not quite ready to let go.

The themes detail endings and goodbyes. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've experienced. You can hear them determining in real time who they want to be.

"I love summary, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to consciously practice ignoring the outside opinions and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."

Development of Music

That recent confidence called for a different sonic direction – more unpolished and direct than anything the band had done before.

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

"Percussion is such a specific thing, and I am so passionate about it," she emphasizes.

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

Anecdotes and Shared Humor

The trio's honesty shaped the album's rollout, where the sisters disclosed some of their romantic misadventures.

Someone left Este over a medical consideration. Alana told a story of travelling to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.

"When you're going through these breakups, you just feel like there's only darkness," explains Alana. "So to be able to share those stories and have them tell you even crazier stories, it's incredible."

A Secure Path

It's not difficult sense a evolution in the band. These days, Haim are more confident of their standing in the music world.

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

However the band will consistently be their primary priority.

"Me and my siblings have been performing since I was little," concludes Alana. "It's like no alternative that we were supposed to do. And I'm really grateful we've gotten here and we're still kicking."