Don’t get it twisted: The Aces are not a girl group.
It would be easy for someone unfamiliar with the band’s brand of punchy indie-pop to mistake them for the next manufactured sensation, as a passing glance at the cover of their debut album — the four girls huddled together, brooding in bold shades of emerald green, watermelon pink, bright yellow and deep purple — evokes something akin to an ultra-hip Delia’s catalog. Yet there’s nothing pre-packaged about this group, which prefers pairing its tight harmonies with polished rock arrangements rather than coordinated dance moves. If there’s anything choreographed about the quartet, it’s the ESP that comes from sharing a stage, and a friendship, for years.
Having cut their teeth in the quietly vibrant music scene of Provo, Utah as teenagers, the four best friends — lead singer Cristal Ramirez, bassist McKenna Petty, guitarist Katie Henderson and Cristal’s younger sister Alisa on drums — made good use of the litany of all-ages venues along the Wasatch front. After being signed to Red Bull Records in 2016, The Aces opened for 5 Seconds of Summer on a U.S. tour and performed at Lollapalooza. Following the release of their debut album, When My Heart Felt Volcanic, last April, the Aces are capping off their biggest year yet with their first North American headlining tour.
Last week, Billboard sat down with Alisa, 21, and Katie, 23, ahead of the band’s second consecutive sold-out show at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom to discuss how the band claims its Utah roots and defies the “girl band” label.
How does it feel to be back at Bowery Ballroom as headliners, playing two sold-out shows?
Alisa Ramirez: It’s insane. Last time we were here we were supporting Joywave, so to come back a year later for two headlining shows is surreal — it’s a dream come true. Selling out a show in New York City is a big accomplishment for us.
You’ve been touring practically non-stop since before the last time you were here, which was in 2017. How do you handle such a grueling tour schedule?
AR: Well, it goes in cycles, so after this we’ll be off for a bit. Last year with touring so much, we sort of went through a lot of growing pains. It’s crazy how much we learned.
Katie Henderson: We all have tips to keep sane on the road — we all try to eat really healthy, and exercise is really important, too. We also have family out a lot, which is maybe unique for an act at this level. But we’re constantly having family out, or significant others, and that tends to help a lot.
One of the first times I saw you was back when you were still called The Blue Aces at a free rooftop concert series in Provo in 2014, when you opened for Neon Trees.
AR: Oh wow, no way! That’s crazy, that feels like so long ago now. It was, like, such a big deal for Neon Trees to have us play with them — they’ve always been so great to us. How many people were even at that show?
KH: It felt like basically all of Provo came out for it, so it was, like, the biggest show we had ever played. And at the time, we were like, 16, so maybe a junior in high school? Which means Alisa was 14. In Provo, the rooftop concert series was such a benchmark that all the major bands got to play, like I saw my brother’s band [Desert Noises] do it, so it became a level we wanted to get to too. It was definitely a milestone for us as a band, and we were still so young.
What would The Blue Aces from that rooftop think of The Aces today and how far you’ve come?
AR: I think our younger selves would be so proud — not surprised, because we’ve always really believed in ourselves, but yeah, definitely proud. Sometimes it hits you really hard, like, ‘This is our show.’ We’ve had so many moments like that on this tour. Like seeing the drum kit with our Aces logo up on the riser instead of in front [as an opener]. Sometimes we all get offstage and just start freaking out like 14-year-olds again because it’s just so surreal.
When you started out, you were much more rooted in alternative rock. What was the turning point in evolving your sound to what it is today?
AR: Well, when you’re starting out you only have the resources you have right?
KH: And especially starting so young, we were essentially a garage band.
AR: So it became a conscious decision as we got older. It really happened with our friend Simon [Oscroft], who we met here in Brooklyn. When we wrote “Volcanic Love,” we knew it was our sound, and we just kept going with it.
Your sound can often be compared to Haim or Maggie Rogers. Who are some of your musical influences or inspirations?
AR: 1975 was a big [influence] on this album. And Paramore, because Cristal has been obsessed with Hayley Williams forever. But also, like, Frank Ocean influenced some songs on the record.
KH: Tame Impala. Yeah, our influences come from all over the place.
Who are some of your dream collaborators?
KH: Wow, there are so many. Kevin Parker from Tame Impala would be a dream.
AR: We’d love to do something with someone like Jorja Smith, something more R&B because Cristal’s voice is seriously so soulful when she’s singing R&B stuff, which is something a lot of people don’t know. So that would be different and show another side [to us].
Anything new you’re listening to lately?
AR: Ariana’s album is incredible, obviously. And even though they’ve only released a couple of songs, the new Vampire Weekend. I’m the kind of person who will listen to one album forever, so I’m still listening to a lot of Scorpion [by Drake].
KH: Post Malone, though a lot of his stuff is older now. I guess “Wow.” is still pretty new. I love Post’s music.
How do you see yourselves fitting into the long history of girl groups within the framework of pop music?
KH: Like the Spice Girls?
AR: It’s easy to say we don’t fit into that because we do play instruments, so it’s obviously different. We constantly ride the line. We’re definitely a pop band. Like we’re not 100 percent rock, but we’re also not like a Fifth Harmony (laughs).
KH: A lot of people really focus on us being a girl band, but “girl band” isn’t a genre of music. So it’s great to be a female band and be recognized for that, but we’ve also been playing together for so long that we’re also just four best friends who are in a band together, so we don’t really think about it that way.
Alisa, you direct a lot of the group’s music videos. What’s that creative process like for you and why is it important?
AR: Honestly, it sort of just fell into my lap naturally. When we were first starting out, we had like no budget and had to call in a lot of favors to get videos made. We’ve tried making videos with the full set and big budgets since, but honestly the ones with no budget are always our best videos. Whenever we record a new song, I almost immediately see the vision in my head for what the video should be. And we collaborate as a group and basically produce all of our videos ourselves too. I think it works because we know our aesthetic and our identity so well at this point.
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You came from a unique microcosm of music in Provo that has launched the careers of several major artists, from Imagine Dragons to Neon Trees to Lindsey Stirling to The Used to The Moth & The Flame. What are your thoughts about how you represent Utah?
AR: We love Utah. A lot of other bands won’t claim it — they say they’re from Vegas or Arizona or whatever, but we’ll always be really proud of where we came from. And we get everything that comes along with it. We know we’re going to get asked questions about Mormonism and religion, all that stuff, but we’re just like, “Fuck it.”
KH: It was such a good place for us to start and build a fan base and play in venues like Velour at like 14, 16, 17. It’s a place we still love going back to play. We’ll always love Utah.
What comes next for you? Are you working on new music?
AR: Our goal is always more Aces. Definitely more music.
KH: We also want to go overseas, break into Asia and South America, places we haven’t been. Also going back to Europe would be cool.
AR: We are working on new music but we’re not talking about it yet. Turn that recorder off and I’ll tell you all about it!
How will it be different from your debut album?
KH: (pauses) Definitely be more mature.
AR: It’ll be the Aces 2.0.
Where do you see yourselves in the next five years?
AR: Oh wow. Five years from now? At this point the sky is the limit. We could be playing a room five times this size.
KH: The Aces at Madison Square Garden!
AR: Yeah. That’s where we want to be in five years. MSG!