Lily and Madeleine - Keep It Together

It’s been a (too) long two years since the Jurkiewicz sisters eased their way onto my Best Albums list in 2014. They’ve jumped to a new label for their third full-length, but all the charms and talent that graced their previous efforts is on display again, so you know it’s going to be a warm, mellow evening of gorgeous harmonies, emotionally wrenching, pseudo-autobiographical tales of love and adventure that occupy the minds of your typical 20-somethings growing up in middle America (i.e., Indianapolis). Opener ’Not Gonna’ reminded me of the laid back, late night woozy charm that settled across the Millington sisters’ Ladies On The Stage album after they left Fanny, ca. 1977.

     There’re some nice, tasty guitar licks punching some upbeat vibes into early hit ‘For The Weak’ which has been making the rounds to great acclaim via the popular video directed by The Flaming Lips’ art director. I also enjoyed the smoky, dark, late night (“it’s 2a.m.”) jazzy ambience melting all over ‘Westfield’.

     ‘Chicago’ continues their Midwest travelogue, with a chill out arrangement reminiscent of The KLF’s classic Chill Out album merged with Angelo Badalamenti’s stark, dreamy soundtracks for David Lynch. ‘Hourglass’ and ‘Hotel Pool’ are more early favourites, their smooth, sultry arrangements combining the best of legendary songbirds Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Christine McVie.

     Obviously, this is not music that’ll have you poncing around the room crushing beer cans on your forehead, but for the more mature, sedate music lovers amongst us, you can’t go wrong by cuddling up next to a loved one and succumbing to the Jurkiewicz’ many charms.