The Aces - Gold Star Baby

‘Gold Star Baby’ finds The Aces at their most joyous. Their previous album, ‘I’ve Loved You For So Long’ was an excavation - it dove deep into the things that had made them who they are, the struggles and the trauma, and desperately, earnestly worked to find light at the end of a long tunnel. On ‘Gold Star Baby’, that light is now uncontainable. It bleeds into every note of the album, and sees The Aces basking in it, dancing their way through their next chapter.

From the theatrically retro introductory track declaring ‘Gold Star Baby’ “the hottest club in town”, it’s immediately evident that fun and vibrancy are the aims of this record. It’s flirtatious, brazenly confident and celebratory to its core. ‘Magic’ is teasing and bold, reeling with excitement over a fall headfirst in love that is brought to life in the sonics of the track. They reach for synths that glisten, giddy vocals, Latin-influenced guitar lines that drive the need to dance the album continually returns to.

If ‘Gold Star Baby’ is indeed the hottest club in town, it’s got every hallmark of a good night out. Locking eyes with someone you know you should stay away from on ‘Fire in The Hole’, hurtling further in love and lust under spinning club lights on ‘She Likes Me’ - the vivacious disco-pop of the album provides the perfect soundtrack for it all. Of course, the vulnerability they learnt along the way is still there - every up and down of a sapphic love affair is in full view, but there is a calm assurance that they can get through whatever is thrown at them.

It feels like the moment you finally realise you are out of a rut, and everything feels that little bit brighter and easier. It’s The Aces taking everything they’ve learnt previously - the resilience, the faith in themselves, the joy they want to bring to their music - and ensuring they all exist right on the surface. They’ve done the hard work, and ‘Gold Star Baby’ sees them reaping the rewards.