Recommended Tracks: “Jealous,” “Stroke,” “Fire in the Hole,” “Square One”
Similar artists: The Beaches, The Warning, MUNA, King Princess
Still wanting to dance your heart out late into the night even after everybody’s gone home and the club’s lights are on? Look no further than the after-hours deluxe edition of Gold Star Baby by the coolest girl band around, The Aces. Released in August last year, this 80s-inspired disco album has been constantly playing in the spirits (and ears) of listeners. The newly released deluxe edition the album includes two new songs — “Square One” and “Can’t Wait — and a remix of the classic banger “The Magic.”
In these two new singles, we fall into a mix of heartbreak and anger, with the inner healing progress having gone down the drain. Isn’t that just the perfect sentiment for an after-hours conversation?
“Square One” embraces the anger and disappointment felt after a partner suddenly moves on to someone new right after stomping on your heart. As the outro repeats a mantra of “F-U’s” to the ex and their new girlfriend, listeners can feel the push and pull between the need to rage and the need to curl up in a ball and cry: “I thought I was past the feelings I had / One look and it all comes undone / No need to rehash, it just makes me sad / And right when I’m just feeling strong / You moved on so fast / What did she have that made you feel like she’s enough?”
But with this feeling of anger comes the urge to run right back into the comfortable space you once had with the said ex, a feeling confronted in “Can’t Wait” atop of its springy, bright guitars. Acknowledgement occurs in the discourse of conflicting emotions with understanding that these feelings need to pass in order to truly heal. It’s hard, but it will come to pass, as the band masterfully explains: “And I pick up the phone, think it won’t do any harm / But it’s past midnight and I wish you never called / I can’t wait to not want to want you / I can’t wait to not care about you / I can’t wait to not want to be with you / Oh, I can’t wait to not look for you in every person I’m talking to / oh, I can’t wait to not be in love with you.”
Gold Star Baby was already a masterpiece in itself, but with the addition of these two new songs, the deluxe edition really adds emphasis to the betrayal and trickery uncovered in the original edition’s final track, “I’m Sweet (I’m Mean).” They add what feels like the pièce de résistance to the entire ordeal.
A grand act of closure to the emotionality and mess of life, the lights now dim on the golden club, but it remains open for any listeners — yes, you — to continue to travel through this beautiful album.
For those wishing to see these songs live, The Aces will be supporting Louis Tomlinson on his How Did We Get Here? tour this summer. Remaining tickets are available here.
The Aces supporting Louis Tomlinson tour dates:
- June 3 – Vancouver, BC – Pacific Coliseum
- June 4 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
- June 6 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
- June 10 – San Diego, CA – The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
- June 11 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
- June 13 – Las Vegas, NV – Resorts World Theatre
- June 14 – Phoenix, NZ – Mortgage Matchup Center
- June 19 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- June 21 – Forth Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
- June 22 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
- June 25 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
- June 26 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
- June 27 – St. Louis, MO – Chaifetz Arena
- July 16 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
- July 17 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
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