Lily & Madeleine Announce 5th Studio Album 'Nite Swim'

Indianapolis-based folk-pop duo Lily & Madeleine announce their enchanting fifth studio album Nite Swim available to pre-order now. 

Alongside the announcement, the band share the soothing official first taste of the project, the track and video, "Windowless Bedroom" out everywhere now. Plus, the pair will hit the road this summer with stops in Columbus, OH and Nashville, TN and tickets are on sale now via lilandmad.com.

Nite Swim, Lily & Madeleine's forthcoming fifth studio album is an expansive journey introducing the listener to various vignettes of the duo's lives over the past five years. Its central thesis explores vulnerability, acceptance, embracing shame and acknowledging one's feelings rather than running from them. 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."

Over ten tracks, the listener is led through intimate scenes of Lily & Madeleine's lives, collectively as sisters and individually as artists. The foundation of the songwriting was built when the band began taking stock of their lives and who is important to them.

Madeleine explains, "As we go through personal hardships, it’s worth noticing the people who remain at our side and the people who disappear. What would it have been like if they stayed? Are we truly better off without them?" The album was produced by longtime friend and collaborator Shannon Hayden and other instrumentation was provided by Devon Ashley, Heidi Gluk, and Jared May.

Over a slow, grooving beat, "Windowless Bedroom," out today, embraces self-discovery and uncertainty in hopes of finding a bright spot in a dark time. Lily & Madeleine's signature dreamy harmonies float in and out throughout, with an unwavering warmth and honesty.

Madeline 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."

Directed by Austin Webster, the video brings viewers into Lily & Madeleine's dream world inside their hometown art studio, Healer. Between pillow forts, old video games and hanging art installations, there's a specific, dreamy haze that Webster captures throughout the video.

Webster shares, "We decided to crank the shutter down on our second camera to make this jarring, wispy look that transformed Healer into a chaotic, ethereal, fantastical dreamscape for Lily & Madeleine to explore."

On the goal of the video and special location, Madeleine explains, "We wanted to create a surreal, imaginative landscape in this music video, and we knew that the immersive art installations in Indianapolis' Healer would be the perfect place to shoot. Videographers Austin Webster and Anna Doak helped us create a fun, playful video that reflects the somewhat cheeky message of the song, which is that life is messy and beautiful and all up for interpretation."

Most recently, the band shared a re-imagined version of the fan-favorite track "Come to Me." Originally released in 2013, the track has over 50 million streams across platforms and has become an all-time fan favorite. Ten years later, Lily & Madeleine teamed up with longtime friend and creative partner Shannon Hayden to put their growth and evolution as artists and as people on full display.

On this new version, producer and multi-instrumentalist Hayden combined folk elements of acoustic guitar and shimmering mandolin with edgy ambient electric guitar, distorted cello, and 80s-inspired synth to create a track that reflects the darker imagery of the song’s new lyrics.

Madeleine explains, "The original version of 'Come to Me' presents a promise: if everything falls apart, will you come to me? This new reimagined version revisits that promise after all this time, saying: I've been with you through it all and I'll be with you forever."

Folk-pop sisters Lily & Madeleine Jurkiewicz were born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and began songwriting at ages 15 and 17 respectively. Their debut, self-titled album arrived in 2013 and their second full-length album came out in 2014, both via Asthmatic Kitty Records.

In 2016, the band shared their third album Keep It Together, and the following year toured with acclaimed folk musicians John Mellencamp, Emmylou Harris, and Carlene Carter. Plus, the duo have had their music featured on fan favorite TV shows like Parenthood, Pretty Little Liars, and on the official soundtrack of the film Promising Young Woman. The pair's celebrated fourth album Canterbury Girls was released in 2019 via New West Records and solidified the band as a promising folk band to watch.

With an NPR Tiny Desk and a CBS News appearance under their belts, and 210K+ Spotify monthly listeners alone, the pair have earned fans far and wide and show no signs of slowing down. NPR raved, "Their music — a restrained, homespun mix of folk and pop with undeniably sweet harmonies — certainly ranks among the loveliest we've heard." Billboard described their 2019 album Canterbury Girls as "Cinematic, swirling, joyous."

On their 2019 track "Analog Love," Refinery29 praised the pair's voices together, writing, "Their harmonies are of an otherworldly sort that can only come when people have a connection that goes far beyond one the develops from standing in proximity to each other in the studio."

The New York Times echoed that sentiment, writing, "The thing that flags them as extraordinary is their sibling vocal blend, deep and seamless and relaxed." The band has fans in plenty more notable tastemakers including LA's KCRW, WXPN's World Live Cafe, Under the Radar, American Songwriter and more.

Now in 2023, Lily & Madeleine are ready to re-introduce themselves and expand their lush sonic world as they enter an all-new chapter. With a more refined sound and subject matter that cuts deeper than ever before, the pair is gearing up to share more later this year. See the duo live later this month in Columbus, OH on July 13, and in Nashville, TN on July 18. Grab tickets now at lilandmad.com.

"Windowless Bedroom," the romantic ode to self-discovery and self-love by Lily & Madeleine is out everywhere now along with its eccentric video. Nite Swim, the forthcoming fifth studio album by Lily & Madeleine is due out October 6 and is available for pre-order now. Don't miss the duo live later this month in Columbus, OH and Nashville, TN with tickets on sale now. 

Photo credit: Anna Powell Denton

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