Lily & Madeleine Share Sweeping Track 'Rolling Rock'

Indianapolis-based folk-pop duo Lily & Madeleine share sweeping track and behind-the-scenes style video "Rolling Rock" out everywhere now. The pair's enchanting fifth studio album Nite Swim is due out October 6 and is available to pre-order now. On the pensive latest release, "Rolling Rock" smoothly–and warily–glides forward to find an end could lead to a new beginning.

"Rolling Rock," out today, tells the emotional story of a platonic breakup and the unique sense of loneliness that comes with it. Madeline explains the track dives into the "complicated feelings of disappointment and loss as you have to grieve all the plans you made together and acknowledge the void they’re leaving in your life." Mirroring the emotional processing of this grief, the track slowly and steadily unfolds with a serene piano loop and later, a shredding electric guitar solo as cathartic relief.

The track's accompanying video sees the duo peel back the curtain on the making of their forthcoming album. Footage behind the scenes–from the studio, to countless cups of coffee, to game nights and more unfolds as viewers can watch the album being created from personal iPhone footage.

The band took footage throughout the process and wanted to do something with it, and the "Rolling Rock" video was born. Madeleine explains, "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."

The album was made with the help of friends and family and took them across the country as they completed it, and this video is an intimate closer look. Madeleine continues, "The making of 'Nite Swim' was such a DIY group effort, recorded over the span of 3 years, in multiple cities, from professional studio settings to our parents' basement in Indiana. We hope this video gives listeners a closer look at our creative process and allows them to feel even more connected with the music."

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, the previously shared "Windowless Bedroom," 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."

In May, 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 their most vulnerable, enigmatic work yet this October.

With "Rolling Rock," out everywhere now, Lily & Madeleine take a deep dive into the particular pain that comes with the end of a friendship. Nite Swim, the forthcoming fifth studio album by Lily & Madeleine is due out October 6 and is available for pre-order now. Connect with the folk-pop duo on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube and stay tuned for much more to come.

Photo credit: Anna Powell Denton

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