Free at Noon Flashback: The Aces’ pure, infectious pop tunes filled World Cafe Live

The Aces | photo by Ashley Gellman for WXPN | agellmanphotos.com

Halfway through The Aces‘ set this afternoon, frontwoman Cristal Ramirez looked out into the audience and asked a question you don’t hear often at Free at Noon: “How many of you are supposed to be in school right now?” An impressive number of hands shot up in the air. The Aces may not have been surprised that a lot of young folks showed up to see them play, but they did seem a bit taken aback by the size of the crowd, given that it was a Friday at noon, and all.

The Aces should be getting pretty used to their quickly growing success by now. The Utah band of longtime friends (two of whom are sisters) formed back in 2008, but first started gaining attention in 2016 with the single “Stuck,” which has been streamed millions of times over. Now, the band is out on the road supporting their debut album When My Heart Felt Volcanic, released just a few weeks ago.

With their new songs, The Aces have expanded upon the magnetic catchiness of “Stuck” which first caught people’s ears, and produced a strong collection of pure, infectious pop tunes that came alive on the World Cafe Live stage Friday afternoon. When the band formed, they initially started out with an alt-rock vibe before realizing the pop inclinations that came more naturally to them. Now, their sound is reminiscent of leading pop acts like Haim, and Ramirez’s expressive onstage dance moves call to mind megastars like Lorde.

Though The Aces may not be filling up arenas right now (and it seems totally possible that they might someday), the band appeared to be more than content to play to our afternoon crowd. They packed their eight-song set full of catchy tune after catchy tune, from older favorites like “Baby Who” to brand new jams like “Last One” and “Fake Nice,” closing, of course, with “Stuck,” the song where it all began.

The Aces are currently out on tour with X Ambassadors, and they’ll swing back our way in June to play Firefly Music Festival. Check out photos from Friday’s set below.

Setlist:
“Physical”
“Volcanic Love”
“Lovin’ Is Bible”
“Last One”
“Baby Who
“Fake Nice”
“Just Like That”
“Stuck”