Tag: ACES I’m Already Gone

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay ACES Releases With Cinematic Visuals for EP Single “Stranger”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past 12-18 months of the site’s history, you’ve likely come across a handful of posts featuring the Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstay electro pop artist, filmmaker and photojournalist Alexander Stewart and her solo recording project ACES, and as you may recall with the release of her first three singles, the achingly vulnerable “What Do You Think They’ll Say About Me,” the part torch song, part wistful and tender farewell “I’m Already Gone” and the slow-burning Quiet Storm-era R&B inspired pop song “Find Me Out,” established a reputation for a subtly modern and atmospheric take on cinematic, 80s synth pop. 

Earlier this year, Stewart released her highly-anticipated Ian Miller-produced debut EP, Stranger, and with the release of the EP’s first two singles — the tender and contemplative “If I Could Be Your Girl,” which features a narrator, who has recognized that her object of accession isn’t good for her, and that she may have to make the painful and difficult decision to end the relationship for good; and the icily ambivalent tell off “Baby, I Don’t Mean to Ignore,” which possesses an push and pull between longing and devotion, wanting to be left alone and of being hopelessly stuck in one’s own head and not quite knowing how to express themselves in a way that makes sense or offends someone. 

Stranger’s third and final single, EP title track “Stranger” will further cement Stewart’s growing reputation for crafting Quiet Storm-like, atmospheric synth pop that thematically focuses on the complex and confusing intricacies of romantic relationships — and in this case, Stewart’s latest single focuses on the surreal sensation of coming across  a former lover for the first time in a while and recognizing that the person you used to know so well has become a total stranger. And while that’s a familiar theme in pop music, “Stranger” possesses a bitterly plaintive ache over a lost relationship that has become an accumulation of one’s growing past. Along with that there’s an anxiousness over being uncertain over how you should respond to this former lover, who still causes your heart to swoon but who also has engendered a deep bitterness. We’ve all been there at some point or another, and even with some age and experience, it never stops being profoundly strange and embittering. 

Directed by frequent collaborator Oresti Tsonopolous and produced by Stewart, the gorgeously shot black and white video was reportedly completely improvised and filmed in a single night while Stewart was jet-lagged from an extended international trip she took as a travel and style photojournalist. And as you’ll see, Stewart busily goes through a  text exchange and gets ready for what turns out to be a made up night out but while capturing the uncertainty and bitterness of seeing that stranger from the past — seemingly evoking the ambivalent emotions and anxiety one would typically feel about such a situation. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: ACES Returns with Symbolic and Cinematically Shot Visuals for “If I Could Be Your Girl”

With the release of her first three singles  — the achingly vulnerable “What Do You Think They’ll Say About Me,” the part torch song, part wistful and tender farewell “I’m Already Gone” and the slow-burning Quiet Storm-era R&B inspired pop song “Find Me Out,” the Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based electro pop artist and filmmaker Alexandra Stewart and her recording project ACES quickly became a mainstay artist on this site, as well as received attention across the blogosphere and elsewhere for a subtly modern and atmospheric take on cinematic, 80s synth pop.

Although Stewart’s highly-anticipated Ian Miller-produced Stranger EP dropped earlier this year, the EP’s first official single “If I Could Be Your Girl” was released towards the end of last year, and as Stewart explained at the time in press notes, the single “is the true  ACES getaway track, but today, I’m not sure where we’re heading. ‘I Could Be Your Girl’ is about being honest with yourself and realizing when you deserve more. I hope it can be a voice for all of us doing some self-reflection right now . . . the future is female!” Unsurprisingly, the single will further cement Stewart’s reputation for her tender and breathy cooing being paired with an sparse, atmospheric yet cinematic production featuring gently trembling synths, hi-hat flashes, thumping beats and gently swirling electronics. And while the song is slow-burning, Quiet Storm-like ballad, it possesses an emotional urgency — after all, the song’s narrator has recognized that while she may have profound emotional attachment to her object of affection, that person isn’t good for her, and as a result, she’s making the painful decision of ending it for good; but underneath the steely reserve, there’s a palpable sense of trepidation, as though the song’s narrator is putting on a brave face to prevent anyone from seeing the uncertainty she actually feels.

The recently released video is a collaboration with director Chelsy Mitchell and the concept behind it comes from a mutual admiration for each other’s work. Using colored filters as a way to dramatize and to abstract the narrative, the video features Stewart shifting between light an dark at an artfully shot, French New Wave-inspired party/prom scene. At the party, the video’s protagonist meets eyes with a potential love interest, who slowly transforms her into a doppelganger of the silent Greek chorus-like women wearing pink, who watch from every angle. And as you can imagine, the new video will also further cement Stewart’s reputation for paring her work with highly symbolic and cinematically shot visuals.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Noirish and Cinematic Visuals for ACES’ Slow-Burning and Atmospheric “Baby I Don’t Mean To Ignore”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for a while, you may recall that with the release of four singles over the course of 2015 and 2016 — the achingly vulnerable “What Do You Think They’ll Say About Me,” the part torch song, part wistful and tender farewell “I’m Already Gone,” the slow-burning Quiet Storm-era R&B inspired pop song “Find Me Out,” and the swooning “I Could Be Your Girl,” ACES, the recording project of Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based pop artist Alexandra Stewart, featuring contributions from Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based guitarist Russ Flynn received quite a bit of attention across the blogosphere, including this site, for an atmospheric and subtly modern take on 80s synth pop.

This year began with Stewart releasing “Just Cut It Out,” a single that appeared on the DRUG BLVD compilation, the first release from Istanbul, Turkey-based dream pop label Drug Boulevard, founded by Kubily Yigit, who has also founded renowned Turkish progressive/trance electronica label Blue Soho Records. And interestingly enough, I think that “Just Cut It Out” will cement Stewart’s growing international profile for crafting slow-burning and atmospheric pop that feature her breathy and achingly tender vocals while focusing on a narrator who’s heartbroken over a relationship that’s ended and yet doesn’t want to give it up. Stewart’s latest single, the slow-burning and aching “Baby, I Don’t Mean To Ignore” continues in a similar vein — sparse and atmospheric arrangements with swirling electronics paired with Stewart’s breathily tender vocals. And much like her preceding singles, “Baby, I Don’t Mean To Ignore,” the first official single from her soon-to-be released debut EP Stranger manages to convey a complex array of emotions — in this case a push and pull between longing and devotion, wanting to be left alone, of being hopelessly stuck in one’s own head and not quite knowing how to express themselves in a way that makes sense.

The recently released and extraordinarily noir-ish and cinematic video was created by Alex Stewart and her video team of Alex Munro and her husband Oresti Tsonopoulous. Based primarily around footage Tsonopolous and Stewart shot while on a date. As Stewart explains in press notes, the footage wasn’t even intended to be used for a music video but once she started to go through it, the concept of the video immediately came to mind. “I love the motion in driving and walking scenes and that’s where I tend to do my best thinking. The song was an idea I had about a person in their most vulnerable moment. Some time before they’re in a relationship or be before they’ve even decided what they’re going to do about their feelings. They’re really mulling things over. The video took shape from those images, and I think you get the sense that this is a girl on a mission. She’s ready to make her move.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their first four singles over the course of 2015 and 2016 — — the achingly vulnerable “What Do You Think They’ll Say About Me,” the part torch song, part wistful and tender farewell “I’m Already Gone” and the slow-burning Quiet Storm-era R&B inspired pop song “Find Me Out,” and the swooning “I Could Be Your Girl,” the Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based electro pop duo ACES, comprised of  Russ Flynn and Alexandra Stewart received quite a bit of attention across the blogosphere for a subtly modern and atmospheric take on early-to-mid 80s synth pop.

The Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based duo start 2017 with their latest single “Just Cut It Out,” which will appear on a synth pop compilation titled DRUG BLVD that serves as the first release from Istanbul, Turkey-based dream pop label Drug Boulevard, founded by Kubily Yigit, best known as the founder of renowned Turkish progressive/trance label Blue Soho Records. “Just Cut It Out” will further cement the duo’s burgeoning internationally recognized profile for crafting slow-burning and atmospheric pop paired with Stewart’s breathy and achingly tender vocals. And while bearing a meticulous production, the single manages to swoons with the heartache of a relationship that the song’s narrator knows is doomed and yet doesn’t want to give up.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Shimmering and Tender Pop Sound and Gorgeous Visuals of Brooklyn’s Tiger + Man’s “Wondering”

Comprised of award winning composers and songwriters, Austin, TX-born, Brooklyn-based Tiger Darrow and South African-born, Brooklyn-based Andrew Orkin, Brooklyn-based electro-acoustic act Tiger + Man met back in 2012 and they initially collaborated on commercial and […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Russ Flynn and Alexandra Stewart, the Brooklyn-based duo ACES craft a painstakingly meticulous sound that pairs Flynn’s sparse, shimmering and atmospheric production with Stewart’s tender and breathy vocals and soaring, anthemic hooks. Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past week or so, you may recall that I’ve previously written about the duo’s first single “What Do You Think They’ll Say About Me,” a song that managed to evoke sunset drives, slow-burning romance and of wisps of smoke gently dissipating into the ether— while just underneath the surface the song possesses an achingly desperate vulnerability and longing.

Flynn and Stewart’s latest single “I’m Already Gone” is an R&B leaning track that pairs eerily, atmospheric synths, skittering, four-on-the-floor drum programming with Stewart’s breathy, achingly tender vocals and brief blasts of guitar to craft a slow-burning, moody and tense ballad that’s one part old-fashioned torch song, and one part wishful and tender farewell. From both “I’m Already Gone” and “What Do You Think They’ll Say About Me,” the duo of Flynn and Stewart have quickly proven that they specialize in a gorgeously, spectral and delicate pop sound.