The Aces are four of a kind. The all-female alternative pop band was founded during their teen years in Provo, Utah, and is made up of two sisters and their childhood best friends — vocalist and guitarist Cristal Ramirez, drummer Alisa Ramirez, guitarist Katie Henderson, and bassist McKenna Petty. Now in their twenties, they have gone on to release one EP and two full-length albums, toured with acts like 5 Seconds of Summer and COIN, sold out their headlining tour in the U.S., and even caught the eye of Machine Gun Kelly while playing their first-ever set at the 2022 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
"I feel like we get a lot of questions like 'How do you guys get along so well? Girls are always fighting.' We always answer to that, like, 'No, we actually know each other.' We're connected, we have really good communication skills," McKenna says of being in a band with her best friends. Katie echoes her sentiment, saying that their unique experiences building The Aces from the ground up has been really special: "Everything we've done, we did together. Not many people get to have relationships like this, we're bonded for life."
I caught up with the ~girlies~ on a Zoom call, where we gushed about music from one of my ultimate comfort movies, Freaky Friday (2003), as their new single is giving serious Pink Slip vibes ("The Freaky Friday soundtrack actually slaps," Katie says). We also chatted about the inspiration behind The Aces' new album, providing safe spaces for young queer people through their music, and their upcoming tour with their good friends, Why Don't We.
The foursome ushered in their new era of music with a nostalgic nod to pop-punk, "Girls Make Me Wanna Die," on June 8. The song, which merely started as a guitar riff that the Ramirez sisters were "obsessed with," has taken on a life of its own as it's a reflection of the band's first romantic experiences.
"Three out of four of us are queer, so it's an even more layered experience to be falling in love and having crushes, but not being able to express that," Cristal tells Seventeen. "There's a lot of inner dialogue that goes on, like examining any little movement. There are all these really subtle things that happen when you're a teenager and falling in love for the first time and figuring out who you are. When you're that age and you're going through all of that, it just feels like you're on fire all the time."
While their first two albums helped solidify the signature Aces sound we already know and love, Cristal refers to the band's upcoming project as the "mature, refined version" of what they used to play in their parents' basement. Alisa notes that it sonically calls back to their roots with influences from the 1980s shoegaze genre. "Ultimately, we just wanted to strip it back, simplify our sound, and go back to what we instinctually did as kids, which was make straight-up rocky garage band kind of music," Alisa explains. "The main motive was that we just wanted to create for the sake of creating and just let whatever we wanted come out of it."
The new track came just in time for Pride, as the band has performed at different festivals in the country throughout June. "Just playing 'Girls Make Me Wanna Die' live during the last couple of shows has been amazing," Katie says. "There's just an energy to the new music and we're itching to play the rest. It's made for playing live."
The Aces' Pride sets took place in cities like West Hollywood, Chicago, and Indianapolis, where Alisa says the girls have performed their "gayest songs from top to bottom" and even brought back fan favorites, like "Lovin Is Bible" from their 2018 album When My Heart Felt Volcanic. "We were like, blown away at the crowd's reaction because we haven't played that song live in years. We forgot how hard it pops off," Alisa tells Seventeen.
The Aces' music — especially their sophomore record, Under My Influence — is full of relatable songs regarding the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with relationships. Cristal admits that the band always set out to embrace their queerness by using she/her/hers pronouns in their lyrics. "Young people need [music that is explicitly queer] — they don't need gray areas. They need people to be proud. Being proud saves people's lives," Cristal explains, crediting artists like Tegan and Sara for providing the same safe space that The Aces have paid forward to Gen Z.
The quartet is also looking forward to expanding their fanbase when they open up for boy band Why Don't We on tour this summer. The opportunity to hit the road with the boys came about with a casual DM from Why Don't We's Jonah Marais, who happens to be good friends with The Aces.
"I think bands like Why Don't We and 5SOS have fan bases who are diverse, really cool young women. Young girls literally run the music industry. They're the most powerful people in entertainment and what young girls like sets the tone," Cristal says. "We're excited to get in front of [Why Don't We's] fan base and hang out with them. They've been so, so kind to us and I think it's just gonna be a blast."
The Aces have come a long way since their adolescence in Utah, and as they've done with their music, they also reflected on any advice they'd give to their 17-year-old selves. Naturally, they encouraged fans to "savor the exploration" of their identities ("Go kiss a girl!" Cristal jokingly exclaims), to trust their instincts, and to live in the moment. Yet, Alisa sums it up best: "The sooner you stop caring what people think, the happier you're going to be. Have a blast and don't stress because it all works out."
Parts of this interview have been edited and condensed for clarity.
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Sam is an assistant news editor at Cosmo, covering all things pop culture, entertainment, and celebrity news. She previously covered those same topics along with health, lifestyle, and beauty at Seventeen. When she isn't draping her cheeks in blush, you can probably find her live-tweeting awards shows or making SwiftToks.
