Review: Lily & Madeleine, Lily & Madeleine (Asthmatic Kitty)

Sisters Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz only released their debut EP this year, but with a buzz at their teenage heels they lost no time in getting out an album. It may be a bit rushed – too sickly sweet for one sitting, while their youthful lyrics will ripen yet – but the hit rate is nonetheless impressively high.

Vocally, the Indiana-based pair are cut from the same cloth as other sister acts First Aid Kit and the Staves, and their voices sound heavenly together, with close, Appalachian-style harmonies. Arrangements may be simple, acoustic finger-picking or jangling band backing. The latter are often the better tracks; see “Nothing But Time” with its tambourine clatter and Simon and Garfunkel riffs, or the hand-clapping and twanging guitar of “I’ve Got Freedom”.