‘Pretty Lies and Time Machines’ offers calming, introspective tunes from Indian-origin siblings Atisha and Nishita Lulla
Lullanas. Photo: Luda Ronky.
Does anyone ever feel the opposite of butterflies in their stomach? Lullanas, the singer-songwriter twin sister duo of Atisha and Nishita Lulla from near Philadelphia, try to sum that up in their twinkling song “Butterflies In Reverse.”
Speaking to Rolling Stone India over a video call, Atisha says it’s one of her favorite songs off their recently released debut album Pretty Lies and Time Machines, which came out on Jun. 14 via Nettwerk. She explains the crux of it, “Like the person or situation that once gave you the good, happy kind of butterflies, no longer give you that feeling.”
The 11-track album follows their breakout songs like “Don’t Say” (2016, recorded in Mumbai) as well as their 2020 EP Before Everything Got Real and the song “Queen of Disaster” from 2021. Working with producer Keith Goodwin at his studio in Pennsylvania, Lullanas unpack their feelings over sonic influences that range from Americana to country-pop and folk-rock between the duo. Atisha says, “We wanted it to be a soothing listen, but also feel like you were a part of the process. Kind of like, you were sitting in the room, so it was very ASMR-oriented.”
If that was a term you weren’t familiar with, it’s the kind of sonic immersion that aims to soothe the ears, often with whispered talking, bird sounds and tapping. When you’re a singer-songwriter duo like Lullanas, it meant being as intimate as possible. Nishita adds about the album, “It’s very vocal and lyric-driven.”
What’s changed over time is that they are now “the ones fully steering the ship” instead of necessarily deferring to others. Sure, there are songwriters, collaborators and producers involved. Nishita says about producer Goodwin, “He was open to letting us try our crazy and not so crazy ideas to get it to a place all collectively were proud of.”
There’s an idyllic yet modern-day sheen to the production and lyricism on songs like “Pretty Lies and Time Machines,” co-written with Jake Etheridge. It comes with a visualizer in which Lullanas make their own time machine out of a friend’s dryer. They put in everything from a disco ball to their old teddy bears, keys, a clock, handwritten lyric notes and more, all representing nostalgia for childhood and “going places.” They even poured glitter in there at some point in the visualizer footage. “That was just a disaster. We poured it right into our friend’s dryer we borrowed and he was like, ‘There’s glitter all over my clothes.’ We’re like, ‘Yeah, now you can sparkle,’” Atisha says with a laugh.
The title track was among a total of six singles that they released before Pretty Lies and Time Machines came out in full earlier this month. Nishita comments on the current route of releasing as many songs off the album as singles before the full collection of 11 tracks. “We’re about the single release life. Because of attention spans right now, does anyone listen fully through? We made the album to flow nicely front to back. We know there are people who listen fully through, but it’s definitely not as common as it used to be,” she says.
Lullanas team up with Scottish singer-songwriter Tommy Ashby for two songs on this album, “24/7” and “Press Play,” the latter being received quite well before it came out. The lyrics go: “Fast forward to the parts you like/’Til it’s over and I’m far behind.”
They drummed up a bit of support for the song when they were touring with Australian indie trio Sons of the East in the Fall of last year. It was when their bakeshop – Lullanas Bakes – was closed temporarily. Nishita says, “You know, it’s crazy. It always happens when we are on the road or away writing or recording – that’s when we get the most orders. And I’m like, ‘Who’s telling these people?’” While the sisters maintain that baking is definitely their side hustle, they get intrigued at the suggestion that they could open a food truck as they take their tunes on the road. Atisha says, “Wait, that’s actually a really good tour idea. Like, a food truck instead of a tour bus in each town. That would make touring financially feasible for sure.”
In the meantime, Lullanas are planning a family visit to India in September. Nishita says, “We’re going to try and book some shows or get something together for that.”
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