Over the course of three albums with slightly different production philosophies, singing and songwriting sisters Lily & Madeleine have established a distinctive style that's rooted in patient, thoughtful melodies and elegant harmonies. That distinctiveness has transcended shifts from quiet acoustic arrangements to more expansive, part-electronic accompaniment, and it does so again on their fourth album. Canterbury Girls finds them working for the first time with the production team of Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuck, who at the time of its release are fresh off a Grammy win for their work on Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour. (It's also Lily & Madeleine's first album without co-songwriter Kenny Childers.) Phasing in and out of unison and harmony on the album, the sisters' voices blend so well that they often sound more like a double-tracked only child, especially on a dreamy track like "Supernatural Sadness." The song's lite sophisti-pop effortlessly blends piano, rhythm guitar, organ, spacy keys, and a lithe rhythm section into a single entity under the singers' persistently warm, composed delivery. Light-handed effects like echo, ghostly backing vocals, and electronics help flesh out the atmosphere without interfering with that elegance. Other tracks are likewise graceful without edging toward bland, including the Motown-esque "Can't Help the Way I Feel," which relies heavily on layered keyboard timbres, including resonant, low-range piano tones and organ, as well as delay. Lyrics across the album struggle to navigate relationships but know when it's time to move on. Throughout the solid set of songs, Fitchuck and Tashian prove a tasteful fit for the duo, reinforcing and embellishing the sisters' languid technique but also staying out of their way.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo