Sisters In Arms

The close-knit siblings of Haim came out of the San Fernando Valley to make a killer debut and win over Taylor Swift and U2. Now, can they top themselves?

- Jonah Weiner

One recent evening, Danielle Haim faced a microphone, coaxed a shivering two-note riff from her Gibson SG and tried not to think about Liza Minnelli and the Pet Shop Boys, who were staring at her, in extreme close-up, from a framed poster on the wall. The poster was goofy; the track she was recording was anything but. “I say goodbye to love again/In loneliness my only friend,” she sang, loading the words with an audible ache.

Danielle fronts the rock band Haim, which she formed 11 years ago with her sisters, Este (bass, vocals, percussion) and Alana (guitar, vocals, keyboards, the occasional cowbell). At first, the trio jammed in their parents’ living room in California’s San Fernando Valley, later booking gigs around town for ever-growing crowds. The band’s killer debut, 2013’s Days Are Gone, made Haim stars. Taylor Swift is a friend. U2 recently invited them to their studio in Malibu to toss around ideas for new music.