Lily and Madeleine: Canterbury Girls (CD on New West Records)

Band: Lily and Madeleine
Label: New West Records
Title: Canterbury Girls

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Band:Lily and Madeleine
Title:Canterbury Girls
Reviewed By:Malcolm Carter
Date Published:28/04/2019

Label:New West Records
Format:CD
Release Year:2019
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For their fourth album sisters Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz shifted recording from their hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana to Nashville and hooked up with producers Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. Tashian and Fitchuk might seem like a strange choice to produce the Jurkiewicz sisters, but there’s no denying that they played a major part in taking Kacey Musgraves’ music to another level with ‘Golden Hour’ and, therefore, a wider audience without losing any of that singer’s original vision. There’s no denying either that they’ve sprinkled some of that same fairy dust over the ten original songs that comprise ‘Canterbury Girls’. Although the album overall is more lush sounding than their previous releases and their pop leanings are more on display, the producers have succeeded in adding more colour and texture to the duo’s songs than we’ve heard before, while still accentuating that lyrically the album features the most personal feelings and thoughts that the sisters have revealed in song to date.

With those voices that gel together like only family can there is little doubt that this is a Lily and Madeleine album, but the producers have taken their songs and fashioned a sound that takes Lily and Madeleine’s music to places that it hasn’t visited before. It was a risk but it works and the result is the sisters’ most accomplished yet diverse set of songs they have so far released. It also feels like this is a kind of coming of age statement from the sisters, still in their early 20s. It’s certainly the most fascinating and adventurous set we have heard from them; one listen to the closing song, ‘Go’ is proof of that.

But to start at the beginning, ‘Self Care’ opens ‘Canterbury Girls’ and it’s immediately apparent that it’s Lily and Madeleine that we are listening to. Those heavenly harmonies are present and correct and the piano-led song reminds the listener why the duo impressed with their self-titled debut back in 2013. But it’s clear, even from this first track, that something has changed; more confidence maybe, the wisdom of being a few years down the line or the almost ethereal atmosphere that Tashian and Fitchuk have surrounded not just this song but some of the others on the album in, all play a part in this.

But it’s with the second song, ‘Supernatural Sadness’, that knocks the listener sideways. This radio-friendly slice of 70’s disco (disco used in a Lily and Madeleine review, my how times have changed) is a brilliantly produced, irresistible pop song that is impossible to sit still to despite, as with many of the songs on the album, the lyrics betraying the upbeat music. Some astute programing of the running order results in that 70’s vibe running through the following song ‘Just Do It’, but this time there’s a nice R’n’B groove going on, throwing up yet another side to their music that we’re only just discovering with this latest album. That’s two songs, just three tracks in, which more than deserve to soundtrack this coming summer.

The title track, which is named after Canterbury Park located in their hometown, harks back slightly to earlier songs but the lushness of the production and nice little sonic touches make it one of the most adventurous songs on this album. ‘Bruises’ is another song that is almost cinematic in its arrangement; those heavenly harmonies are superb and again there are some lovely embellishments running through the track.

The mix of ballads and the more up-tempo songs such as ‘Pachinko Song’ makes for a more interesting listen than the sisters’ previous albums (although all three albums leading up to this are well worth your time). The aforementioned song also features the most unexpected and therefore powerful use of the f-word since Aimee Mann used it in ‘(Believed You Were) Lucky’. ‘Circles’ is another ornate ballad that deserves special mention.

‘Can’t Help the Way I Feel’ finds the sisters throwing a little Tamla-Motown into the proceedings; it’s another song which shows this new-found confidence to push the boundaries of their music, and yet another song that’s impossible to sit still to.

There are plenty of traces of the Lily and Madeleine displayed on their previous albums to keep their fans happy with ‘Canterbury Girls’ but having the courage to move their music and vision forwards has resulted in the best album yet from Lily and Madeleine and one that will, hopefully, receive the same acclaim as ‘Golden Hour’ did and introduce them to a wider audience. Because if one album deserves to be heard and breakthrough this year it’s ‘Canterbury Girls’. Wholeheartedly recommended, not a dull moment on the album and a career high for Lily and Madeleine.

Track Listing:

01) Self Care
02) Supernatural Sadness
03) Just Do It
04) Canterbury Girls
05) Bruises
06) Pachinko Song
07) Circles
08) Can't Help the Way I Feel
09) Analog Love
10) Go

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Related Links
http://www.lilandmad.com/
https://plus.google.com/106345640737843364248
https://twitter.com/LilandMad
https://www.facebook.com/lilyandmadeleine/
https://www.instagram.com/lilandmad/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPyFiMigE0J-JSPWBGezdTg

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