Lily & Madeleine Announce Fifth Studio Album ‘Nite Swim’
American folk-pop duo, Lily & Madeleine, have announced their fifth studio album Nite Swim. It will be released October 6th. The sisters, born and raised in Indiana, come from a music-loving family. They began their songwriting careers in 2012 at the ages of 15 and 17, respectively. They have gotten attention from fans and industry professionals alike with their four full-length albums: Lily & Madeleine (2013) and Fumes (2014) on Asthmatic Kitty Records, and Keep It Together (2016) and Canterbury Girls (2019). They have even appeared on a Tiny Desk Concert by NPR Music and CBS This Morning.
Lily & Madeleine embarked on a new chapter of their musical journey earlier this year with a reimagined version of their fan-favorite hit, “Come To Me,” which has accumulated nearly 50 million streams on Spotify alone. They later shared a first taste of their new album with the soothing “Windowless Bedroom,” along with the announcement of Nite Swim, in July. Embracing self-discovery and finding the light in a dark room, Lily & Madeleine find their captivating collective sound. Madeleine explains, “Windowless Bedroom is about romanticizing and finding humor in the uncertainty and inevitable disappointments of life. The metaphor of a drab, lonely bedroom with no windows becomes a canvas for one’s imagination to create a more ideal reality.”
The next single from the album, “Rolling Rock,” followed with its release earlier this month. It tells the emotional story of a platonic breakup and the tricky sense of loneliness that came with it. The instrumentals mirror the complicated feelings as they slowly and steadily unfold with a serene piano loop and, later, a shredding electric guitar solo to unleash the relief one would desire in such a situation. The music video accompanying “Rolling Rock” sees Lily & Madeleine peel away the curtain on the making of their anticipated album, with the help of friends and family across the country. Madeleine says, “We decided to dust off these video clips and create a home-movie style compilation video that reflects the fun, messy, earnest creative process of how this album came together.”
Lily & Madeleine continue with the feelings of growing up, being vulnerable, accepting and embracing shame, and acknowledging feelings rather than running from them on Nite Swim. Lily says the project dives into the feeling of “wanting to be intimate with someone but feeling like they’ll reject you when they see how complicated you are inside.” It takes the listeners on a journey through various vignettes of the lives of the duo over the past five years, both as sisters, and individually as artists. It includes impressive instrumentals, including moving string sections on songs like “No Part Of Me” and possibly an organ on “Nite Swim.” Lily & Madeleine continue to prove their talent with their signature harmonies on every song. On “Ocean Ave,” it even sounds like they remarkably harmonize with the strings of the song. Throughout the entire album, lyricism that is uplifting, yet saddening and honest, but accepting can be found. “Lost Boys” ends the album with a ravishing instrumental that allows readers to feel the tragic yet magical lyricism that the song starts with.
Nite Swim, a self-released album, is out on October 6th. It is produced by longtime friend and collaborator of Lily & Madeleine, Shannon Hayden. Instrumentals are provided by Devon Ashley, Heidi Gluk, and Jared May. While Lily & Madeleine have been on stage in the music industry for over 10 years, this album should push them further into the spotlight.
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