Not Gonna– “Not Gonna” is very mellow. When I close my eyes when I’m listening to it, it feels like I am floating in the ocean, letting the waves move me.

It’s really a combination of the Lily and Madeleine’s voices and the piano and drums underneath that give this wave feel. The vibe of the song is mellow, but if you listen to the lyrics, it’s pretty deep. My favorite line from the song is:

“Keep it together. Don’t lose it like prom night.”

For the Weak– This song is a lot more upbeat than the previous one. That’s not the only difference it has though. The instruments are different, the beat is different, even the vocals are different. The sister’s voices sound happier in this song, which is funny because the song really isn’t a happy song.

From what I gathered, the song is about a relationship ending because of an affair.

“I just want you to tell me now, how this is going to go, cause I’m sick of losing sleep.”

Westfield – The way the song starts reminds me of the way “Wouldn’t it be Nice” by the Beach Boys begins. It leads in with an acoustic guitar strumming a few notes, then goes into the vocals. This acoustic guitar stays through out the song which I think gives the song a carefree song.

But like the first two songs, this is deceiving. It is about driving home with someone sitting in an awkward silence because neither of you want to address the issues you have. I really like how powerful Lily and Madeleine’s lyrics are. Their vocals make them good, but that combined with their thought provoking lyrics really makes them worth listening to.

Chicago – This song is about the “Windy City” as you probably gathered from the title. It is about the singer’s significant other coming to visit her in Chicago.

“Windy City lights are all I see tonight, and I’m blinded.” The sister’s harmonies are amazing in this song. The tempo is nice and slow which really lets you appreciate the vocals.

Hourglass – This song is absolutely beautiful. It has so many good things going for it. The vocals for one are flawless, both the harmonies and the solos.

Once you are done being distracted by the sister’s talent, you can pay attention to the lyrics: poetic and deep, but subtle enough that anyone can relate to it. Definitely one to check out.

“Rain falling hard and steady, don’t stop until I’m ready”

Hotel Pool– The beginning of this song starts off with a slow piano solo. After the first thirty seconds, the drums and guitar comes in, which picks it up.

The meaning of the song is pretty simple, just about her wanting to meet someone at “the hotel pool,” but the accompaniment as well as the harmonies the sisters provide really make you want to listen to the song a second time. “So meet me at the hotel pool and know it’s only me and you.”

Smoke Tricks– I don’t understand the name of this song, but that just reinforces it being Indie. The song begins with the sisters singing almost monotone. It gives it a futuristic feel that stays with it through out the song.

“I’m disconnected and frozen, just like the words that I’ve spoken. Rolling it up, no emotion.” It is a very different song from the others. They have cut out filler that the other songs have, so you have to focus on the vocals, which I think is a nice change from the rest of the album.

Midwest Kid– I really like the way this song starts. There is a song effect at the very beginning of the song that sounds as if a record is being put on or someone turning a radio.

“We know we won’t make it in the end. Keep talking about our life long friends. Do your best to forget about it.” The end of the song has some cool sound effects too. It almost sounds like the noises R2-D2 makes in Star Wars and then a page turning.

Small Talk – This song features a bumping electric guitar that really helps this song be upbeat.

“Don’t want to fall into a world with no water, ten stories tall.” The lyrics are great and so are the vocals, just like the rest of the album, but this song didn’t stick out to me as much as the others.

Nothing – This song starts off with birds singing which I actually love. I think some artists try to stick to music they can make, but they forget about the music that is already around them.

This is my favorite song on the album. The lyrics are pretty heart-wrenching, but I think that is what I like about it. It is real. It’s about how a girl feels when she sees her boyfriend with another girl.

“You knew the way to my heart better than I knew knew myself. Losing her to you was harder than anything else, Since you left I now know better and I finally see what you are to me. You’re nothing.” 

I really enjoyed this album. It wasn’t a chore like some albums are to listen to, it was fun. I could listen to it all day and not get sick of it. I love Lily and Madeleine’s vocals and their lyrics. They don’t have any super upbeat songs, most of the songs aren’t dancing songs, so if that is what you are looking for, you won’t find it here. But if you don’t mind it slow, I would recommend checking Keeping it Together out. If you like what you hear, you can check out Lily and Madeleine’s other albums on Spotify. If you want to learn more about them or see them in concert check out  their website and follow them on Facebook.

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Take a Breath was one of the bands that played; they are an alternative rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They played songs off their album ‘The Anatomy of a Rose’ . For the most part the crowd consisted of about twelve fan girls that were front and center for almost all the acts that night. They had a good stage presence, but the sound was up way too high and they sang to close to the microphone, so it caused a lot of distortion and was not pleasing to the ears. Besides that, after listening to their tracks online, they’re very good and if it were under different circumstances, I’m sure they sound better live.

Time Atlas was the main act of the night and definitely were the most talented ones that played. They are a pop/alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota that formed in 2015. They sound scarily similar to the previous group, and were not very different in that aspect. They do have promise and are relatively popular but there was nothing about them that really stood out to me. They just released their debut EP “Clarity” and you can check that out here.

Kickbox is a pop punk group from Chicago, Illinois. They reminded me a lot of Real Friends as far as their sound goes, it was almost like they were trying to mimic them. They really got all the fan girls going with their teenage angst lyrics, and when they would accentuate

the f-word anytime they sang it in one of their songs. Overall they were good enough to keep my attention which is a pretty big accomplishment. You can check them out here.

The rest of the acts that played that night were singer/songwriters that all pretty much sounded exactly the same. I know that may seem a little harsh but if you want to make it as a singer/song writer you have to find a way to differentiate yourself from all the other ones that are out there or else you are pretty much just background music for the audience.

One of the singer/songwriters was Brian Moroney. He is from Chicago, and also plays in Airways an indie rock band from Peterborough, England. Brian had a really nice voice and played an all acoustic, but like I

said, he wasn’t very unique in that aspect. He did draw in a lot of attention from the ladies though and had a pretty good presence on stage.

Next is Clay Borrell, a 19-year old singer/songwriter and entertainer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was very good at getting the crowd going; well, the crowd that was there

with his young Justin Bieber type of sound. The fan girls went crazy over him which made him even more energetic on stage. If you’re interested here is the link to his to YouTube account.

Lastly, there was Cup Check: a female-fronted pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois. Their female lead singer has a great voice but not a very attention-capturing presence. It may have that way just because it was an all acoustic set rather

than their usual rowdy pop punk sound. The lyrics were very well-written and they had an overall good sound but sounded very similar to the other bands that were there. The only thing that made them different was their female lead singer.

Overall it was a good show; it wasn’t the greatest one I’ve ever been to, but it was still entertaining. None of the bands sucked so I would say it was worth the trip back to Iowa City for the night.

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