2023’s I’ve Loved You For So Long was a heavy album for The Aces. While their usual brand of indie-pop was as sparkly as ever, the record’s lyrics laid singer Cristal Ramirez’s mental health struggles bare, unpicking the bands’ years’ worth of religious trauma after growing up in and subsequently leaving a staunch Mormon community. On new record Gold Star Baby, they’re diving head-first into disco-pop as well as their own production duties, singles The Magic and Jealous setting forth an ethos of queer liberation and a hell of a good time.
Straight from the off, this is the most ambitious The Aces have been with their world-building on a record thus far. The MC in the record’s intro establishes ‘Gold Star Baby’ as a metaphorical club where The Aces are the night’s fawned-over house band, promising funky disco pop that really gets the hips swinging. “If you don’t like it, there’s a hole in your soul”, he says, and as borderline cheesy as it is, there’s certainly a basis for that to be true on a sonic level. There’s no phoning it in for the gimmick on the instrumental side here; bassist McKenna Petty is the anchor, laying down an essential, groovy foundation, Alisa Ramirez’s handclaps and rolling drum parts feel particularly fresh for her, while Katie Henderson’s guitar adds flavour, tight and rehearsed like a pro but impressively maintaining a carefree, garage jam quality. It all comes together best on The Magic, a slinky dancefloor anthem that has real musical depth along with getting folks boogieing.
Singer Ramirez has had a complete transformation since we last heard from her—the soul-searching of I’ve Loved You For So Long encouraged a more wistful and earnest vocal contribution, but she sells the newfound self-confidence of Gold Star Baby like her life depends on it. She shines a spotlight on her lover (because “it’s what she deserves”), but also herself, most effectively so on not-so-humble-brag She Likes Me, sure to become an anthem for lesbian power couples everywhere. It does feel like more jokey moments fly under the radar in favour of this ‘cooler-than-you’ delivery (lyrics like “don’t drink that Hatorade babe, just feel that 808, babe” need a twinkle in the eye rather than self-seriousness), but fans will love seeing Ramirez feeling herself.
While it’s a promising foundation though, The Aces don’t quite stick the landing with this new take on things. A self-assured and concept-first front half gives way to a barrage of heartbreak lyrics, completely raining on the parade and regressing all the self-love back to self-doubt and uncertainty. It doesn’t help that no tracks on the album’s back half are anywhere near as sticky as the beginning, plus there’s no sonic deviation, so the music is communicating ‘dance on’ while the lyrics feel like the opposite. There’s nothing inherently wrong with having vulnerable moments on a record meant for dancing, but it doesn’t sound like the narrative structure of the record has been considered with the significant change in emotion. It all culminates in closer I’m Sweet (I’m Mean), which details a bite and vengeance in its lyrics, but is delivered in the complete opposite way. Sure, this could be representing both sides of the song’s title, but to chicken out of playing the part of the mean girl not only does the song a disservice, but makes the album peter out instead of making that one final impact.
I’m Sweet (I’m Mean) represents the wider issue with Gold Star Baby—The Aces need to push things further. They’ve long been a super-competent unit musically, and this attempt at an overarching narrative for a record is absolutely a move forward, but there feel like too many loose ends for it to be a real success. This record feels like a stepping stone for The Aces, but once they gain more confidence in their (already great) production skills and carry a concept through to the very end (maybe use more of their Spanish we get a tiny preview of on this record), then the gold star will truly be theirs.
For fans of: Maude Latour, The Beaches, Fickle Friends
‘Gold Star Baby’ by The Aces is out now.
Words by Georgia Jackson
