November 30, 2018

Aly & AJ Are Back Again. And They’re Good. Like “Potential-Break-Up Song” Good.

These cow belles aren’t playing around in the mud anymore.

Aly & AJ/Twitter

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

This week: Ten Years (Deluxe) by Aly & AJ (Aly & AJ Music LLC, 2018)

Why we’re into it: The girls outshine their studio tracks with two newly released live recordings and a brand new studio recording.

It’s been a hot minute since Aly & AJ stormed the hearts of tweens across America with their angsty 2007 pop hit “Potential Breakup Song,” but now, along with a brand new song and two live recordings of their previously released singles, the sisters are back and carving out a bright musical future for themselves.

Ten Years, released in summer 2017, was one of the best returns to music that any former teen stars—let’s not forget Cow Belles—could have made. But as of November 30, they rereleased their EP in a deluxe edition that contains a brand new studio single, as well as live recordings from the final show in Chicago that closed their 2018 tour. With eight songs full of their 80’s inspired synth and guitar heavy tracks, there’s plenty to fall madly in love with.

“Take Me,” “Promises,” “I Know,” and “The Distance,” have been around for over a year now, but upon a re-listen as part of the release, they feel as fresh and as vibrant as if you are hearing them for the first time. “Good Love,” released last summer is the love-is-love anthem that doesn’t overdo it and mirrors the girls outspoken political views.

Along with the old songs, there is also a new single, “With You“, that employs a deliciously sounding synth under their vocals and quickly beats out the other tracks as one of the album’s highlights. But no other track owns the top spot except their live recording of “Promises.” The live track is exciting, with their voices bestowing a type of wistfulness that gives the music a freshness that is rare in a studio recording.

But what really makes Aly & AJ stand out is their ability to mature both musically and lyrically alongside their fans, the new ones and those who have been with them since their Disney days. “All this is, is another mistake / Is another mistake to check off my list,” they sing as the crowd of Thalia Hall joins in.

An accomplished balance of maturity and playfulness is what makes this album today’s find. The rarity of musicians who outperform their studio recordings is a gem. So savor these eight tracks while you spend this weekend with the girls.

Honorable mentions: Clean Bandit’s newest orchestral-pop album What Is Love, Rita Ora’s long awaited perfect-pop masterpiece Phoenix, and Dounia’s soulful album Avant Garde. 

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate