MUMBAI: Beloved indie-pop quartet The Aces today kicked off Pride month with the release of their highly-anticipated third studio album, ‘I’ve Loved You For So Long’ on Red Bull Records. Spanning eleven tracks, the record sees the band reflect on their childhood and unpack how their early experiences with closeted love and religious trauma have influenced their relationships, mental health, and identity in the present. While the themes carry weight, the songs feel liberating, with nostalgic hints of 80s pop and 90s alt-rock. Produced by Keith Varon (Joji, JORDY, Chloe Moriondo), the album stemmed from months of studio sessions during the pandemic, which became a coping mechanism and a safe space for them to connect with their inner-child. The result – their most self-assured work to date and a retrospective through 15 years of growing up together, only to realize the band is the greatest love of their lives. Fans can stream the album ‘I’ve Loved You For So Long’ and featured single “Attention” here: theaces.ffm.to/ilyfsl
Lead singer Cristal Ramirez shares, “This album is about reconnection. Things have never been more clear than when we look back. Every year I feel like a different person. Older, wiser, but my problems are still the same as they’ve always been. The lessons that keep repeating themselves; some it seems, never learned. What I realized while making this record, was a surprising and subtle revelation. While trying to tell the stories of the now, of endless days and nights paralyzed by anxiety, fear, and a world out of control, there was someone else who everything kept pointing back to. A 14-year-old queer girl from the suburbs of religious Utah, who’s only real joy and peace was found puzzle piecing melodies together in the basement with a guitar she snuck out of her older brother’s room.”
She continues, “Really it’s her who saved me during a world on fire. It’s time to tell her stories, well, more like our stories. I thought I was so much different, that I’ve changed… and I’ve worn that like a badge of honor. Ultimately, I realize I’m that same 14-year-old girl in many ways. The difference is that I’ve started to like that girl a lot more than I ever have before.”
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Finding inspiration in the disparate likes of The Cranberries and LCD Soundsystem, The Aces experimented with new styles while remaining authentic to their roots. The early singles caught the attention of tastemakers like KCRW, BBC Radio 1, and KROQ to name a few, racking up over 12 million streams ahead of today’s release.
On the new single, “Attention”, Cristal adds, “I think one of the funniest things about life is that your greatest dreams can become your greatest source of loneliness. “Attention” is an exploration of these conflicting feelings. My dream of playing music and touring the world was what got me up in the morning, as a closeted and confused teenager. I was desperate to create a life of my own, outside of small suburban Utah. If I could just get out, everything would be amazing. And it is an amazing life. I love what we do, but I can’t remember the last time I spent most major holidays at home, or how many times I’ve gone to bed, a fight unresolved with a girlfriend thousands of miles away, because I’m in a different time zone. My greatest dream, at times, pulls me away from the most important people in my life. Every aspiration has its price to pay, every rose has its thorns.”
