The Jurkiewicz sisters started singing and playing music together in high school, first creating videos online. After being discovered in their native Indianapolis by local label Asthmatic Kitty, they were quickly mentored into touring and professional artists.
With their self-titled debut album in 2013, they set themselves apart by perfecting vocal harmonies and simple guitar- and piano-based melodies. With their quick follow up, Fumes (2014), they added a few additional strings, but mostly continued the mellow folk. Now, onKeep It Together, they've moved into more complex and dynamic production using keyboards, effects, and percussion to drive the music.
Many stereotypes and assumptions that might apply because of their age fail to land when applied to Lily and Madeleine. While the Justin Timberlakes and Taylor Swifts of the world are appealing to teenage angst and first love, Lily and Madeleine turn all of the same emotions and the process of growing up into more poetic and allusive language. On "Hourglass" they sing:
This is my hourglass
Let me stay where I am
Seconds pass through my hand
Fall asleep like the sand
And it's falling
And it's falling
Passing cars and nameless faces
Don't know what it is they're chasing
Leave me behind
I'm well aware that out my window
There's so many places to go
But all in good time.
This fear of missing out is expressed more like something you’d study in English class and less like the trendy text-messaging lingo of youth culture.
Lily and Madeleine have perfected their unique vocal harmonies to create music that is great to listen to on a lazy Sunday afternoon or help you reset on the commute home. (New West Records)