Author Archives: Jenna Simard

Who knew that when singer-songwriter duo Lily & Madeleine published their first YouTube video last year, their performance would gain over 300,000 views. The sisters are only teenagers, after all.

But listen to the soulful maturity with which they sing, and you’d swear these young women have been recording for years. It’s no wonder that just one year later the two are releasing a gorgeous full-length album—out just today (10/29) on Asthmatic Kitty Records—and are well on their way to taking the music world by storm.

Despite their adolescence, the duo—that is, Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz, ages 16 and 19 respectively—perform with a wisdom beyond their young years. Madeleine’s folkier, almost angelic voice in tandem with Lily’s edgier, more sultry tones yield harmony which could only so seamlessly come from two artists who’ve known each other their whole lives. The result is an effortlessly congruent sound marked by striking simplicity, delicate instrumentation—and raw talent.

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PHOTOS: SHANTEL MITCHELL | There’s no denying that the South is home to some of the best music festivals in the country: Bonnaroo, Voodoo Fest, and Jazz Fest, to name several. But there’s nothing quite like listening to some of your favorite bands and discovering new artists in the Live Music Capital of the World.

The past two weekends were host to Austinites’ favorite/least favorite time of year: Austin City Limits Music Festival. The festival boasts some of the few days out of the year when people have a viable excuse to get weird in the city where keeping it weird is a mainstream way of life, when wearing neon paint on your face is socially acceptable, and when artists ranging from FIDLAR to Wild Belle, Muse to Smith Westerns, and Jimmy Eat World to Thao & the Get Down Stay Down are all performing in one place—and in this case, on one day nonetheless. How any festival-goer can retain sanity is beyond me. But then again, losing it a little is kind of part of the ACL experience.

This year, over 130 bands performed on eight stages at Zilker Park, ACL’s annual grounds for the past 12 years. And with a diverse lineup featuring everything from pop to metal to folk and hip-hop, the festival no doubt drew a motley crew of attendants—a mishmash of Austin’s trendy, vintage-clad youth, fratty college students ready to fist pump all night long, “cool dads” who hang up the suits to relive their glory days, kids who are clearly up to no good in those cheeky hot pants, and uber-hippies who look like they’ve read Thoreau one too many times. Needless to say, ACL is absolutely an experience all its own.

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It’s impossible not to tap your toes and sway your shoulders to Lucius’ infectious “Turn It Around.” From the very first “ahhh-ha!” and the syncopated handclaps that follow, I’m hooked. Playful, fun—I like it. And then, the chorus sets in, and what originally sounds like a catchy, airy pop song reveals to be much richer, much more magnetic than your typical bubbly tune, thanks to the vocal finesse of its leading ladies.

Enter Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, the power behind Lucius’ soulful, multi-layered sound. The duo have been performing together ever since their college days at Berklee–for nearly a decade now. Listen to the perfect unison and gorgeous harmony with which they sing, and their longstanding experience is pretty evident. The fact is no secret to many onlookers as of late. Just ask Rolling Stone, who recently highlighted Lucius as an esteemed “Band to Watch.”

Now, the group is making waves across the music sphere with news of a new album. The first time I heard “Turn It Around” was when I came across the band’s EP earlier this year. Now, it takes new form as one of 11 tracks on the band’s debut LP, Wildewoman, released today, October 15, via Mom + Pop Records.

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It’s here, folks. After more than three years since its original release, the soundtrack for Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is now available on vinyl. Note: whether you’re a fan of the film or not, this thoughtfully curated collection is definitely worth a listen.

Based off Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim could have fallen prey to the all too common tragedy of the comic-book-turned-movie with a soundtrack chock full of cheap-ploy chart-toppers, but void of music that actually makes sense for the film. Thankfully, though, it doesn’t.

Seeing as though O’Malley’s novel essentially centers on the garage punk music of its characters, Wright faced the challenge of curating a collection of sounds that accurately reflects Scott’s world—and easily stood up to the test with this compilation. The soundtrack channels the comic’s scrappy energy by enlisting the talents of Beck, who wrote and composed the music for Scott’s band “Sex Bob-omb,” and features the music of Metric, Broken Social Scene, Rolling Stones, T. Rex, and others. Also rightfully included in the list is punk-pop quartet Plumtree, whose “Scott Pilgrim” inspired O’Malley’s original character.

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