On the strength of those videos, the Bloomington, Indiana, producer Paul Mahern invited them into his studio to record their first EP, The Weight of the Globe, when their class schedules permitted.

[2] With the help of Kenny Childers (Gentleman Caller), they co-wrote their first original songs for the EP, and a video of Lily & Madeleine singing in Mahern's studio appeared on the front page of Reddit, a news aggregator site.

The Weight of the Globe was picked as a 2013 release by Sufjan Stevens's Asthmatic Kitty Records,[3] and John Mellencamp asked the sisters to contribute guest vocals to the soundtrack of his musical, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.

In reviewing Lily & Madeleine, The New York Times argues that "the thing that flags them as extraordinary is their sibling vocal blend, deep and seamless and relaxed".

[10] The album received a rating of 4 out of 5 stars from AllMusic which called it a "solid set of songs", adding that producers "Fitchuck and Tashian prove a tasteful fit for the duo".