The third studio album ‘I’ve Loved You For So Long’ by The Aces dropped in June this year to much anticipation and critical acclaim. Tackling themes of anxiety, growing up queer and the reckoning with religion that each member of the band had experienced, the album finds the band at their most vulnerable and somber to date. The band’s lead singer Cristal Ramirez stated to Red Bull Records, “This beautiful synchronicity happened between us where, for the first time in our lives and our career, we were all on the same page about religious trauma, about our past. Katie was out; Kenna had just left the faith. We were all out living our truth, and we were in this space where we were making music from the same place.” Songs like “Always Get This Way” and “Stop Feeling” delve into the panic attacks and depression experienced by Ramirez and serve as an extension to what she shared in the previously released “Don’t Freak” which dealt with the stigmas surrounding mental health issues. The song “Suburban Blues” speaks on growing up queer in the suburban town of Orem, Utah and has been a standout during the band’s live shows. “This record’s a little more introspective and alternative and it’s a little more somber too by nature. It’s been really nice to see our fan base be able to relate to it in a deep sense and not be turned off by it because it is a little bit different,” drummer Alisa Ramirez shared, “it’s been really cool to be going all over the world and seeing people relate to a song like Suburban Blues which is something that we wrote about like our experience of growing up in a super conservative town, where we didn’t fit the mold. So even going to places that are really progressive like London and Denmark and all these places where you think maybe the youth wouldn’t have struggled as much with that type of thing but they do, and they also deeply relate to it. I feel like that’s been a really cool thing to witness.” After wrapping up their North American tour, the quartet will head off to Australia and Japan for their inaugural shows across each country.
The Aces spoke with B-Sides host Pete Mar about the positive reception to their latest album ‘I’ve Loved You For So Long’, guitarist Katie Henderson’s recent engagement, the reception from fans as they get familiar with the new album and more.
Photos from The Aces performance at the UC Theatre in Berkeley, CA 10/27/2023
