The Aces (2019)

One Liner: Snappy pop indie girl group that I like despite myself

Wikipedia Genre: Indie, pop, alternative
Home: Utah

Poster Position: 12

Weekend Two Only.

Thoughts:  Interesting, in that Wikipedia has "Ace (band)," which is a 1970's British rock group, "Ace (South Korean band)," "The Aces (blues band)," "The Aces (Jamaican group)," and a buttload of other uses for the name Aces, before you get to "The Aces (indie pop band), which is the right entry for this girl pop band.  They should probably consider a new band name.  They used to be called the Blue Aces, but for some reason decided to complicate things.

Two sisters and then two other childhood friends, who apparently cut their teeth in music playing all ages and alcohol-free shows in Utah.  They came to ACL a few years back, as a late addition to the poster, and at the time they only had one four song EP.  My closest comparison then (and now) was to the dance rock pop of HAIM.  They got to open for 5 Seconds of Summer not long after their last ACL shows.

Their most popular tune is called "Stuck," which was on that early EP and now also appears on their one album (2018's When My Heart Felt Volcanic).  Back in 2017, it had 3.6 million streams on Spotify, but now it is up to 9.5 million.  So, not blowing up in any major way, but still a good, steady stream of streams.  According to their bio, its a tune about toxic relationships.  

More of that kind of disco-fied pop dance music.  And not that I'm a drummer or anything, but you'd have to think that the girl behind the kit is pretty bored.  Its a good jam.  Although when I look at the screen-capture for that video, it looks like Aubrey Plaza fronts this band, but then when she is out of her makeup, she looks like a regular senior in high school out to walk the dog.

Also from their early EP, here is one more jam - "Physical," which has racked up 3.1 million streams.

Sounds like something I've heard before from Days Are Gone, but who the hell cares, that tune is kind of a jam.  I can easily see them getting the crowd bouncing to that tune at the Festival.  I'd dance like Molly Ringwald to it.  I just went back and has another listen before finally posting this, and yes, still makes me bob my head and want to groove.  But both of those are undeniable little dance nuggets.  They have a handful of YouTube videos of behind the scenes for filming videos and interviews and whatnot, and they seem like pretty down-to-earth ladies.  

The new album sounds exactly like these tunes - 80's guitar, catchy hooks, synths, harmonies, and sing-a-long choruses.  The synths on "Just Like That" make me think of Stranger Things.  It's good stuff.  Except for the one song called "Lovin' is Bible," which is super weird and I don't want to hear them say that my lovin is bible anymore.  The top track right now is "Waiting For You," with 4.2 million streams.

They played a pretty solid version of that track on Late Night with Seth Meyers, although it doesn't have nearly the verse and excitement of those earlier two songs.  I mean, I understand its more of a burner love song, but the power of this band are the party songs (IMO).  "Last One" is pretty solid - and they released a companion spanish version as well, in case you are in the market for such a thing.

I'll probably choose something else instead, but I could make a case for going and enjoying these ladies for a good time dance party.