Aly & AJ Release Highly Anticipated EP, 'Ten Years'

"This is just the start," muses Aly Michalka, who, along with her sister AJ Michalka, exude an excitement impossible to ignore. Their energy completely renewed, the duo arrive today with their highly anticipated EP, "Ten Years" - their first musical release in a decade.

The sisters cut their hiatus short with the lead single, "Take Me", and the accompanying visuals produced by visionary director and screenwriter Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip, Queen of Earth), with cinematography from the talented Sean Price Williams (Good Time).

The song was received with critical acclaim from major outlets like Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Allure, Refinery29, BuzzFeed, Playboy and more, generating over a million streams in its first week, with MTV enthusing, "Dreamy, anthemic...It's perfect pop." The song has generated nearly 3 million streams on Spotify, and made its way in the Spotify Viral Charts, hitting number 1 on the US Viral 50 chart, with the bewitching video generating close to 1 million views.

They followed with "I Know", a song that sings a glittering ode to friendship. From the opening moments, we're greeted with effortless vocals layered over saccharine synths that build to a climactic finish, complete with booming 80's-inspired 808 drums.

Their new direction is startlingly honest and a bold statement sonically. With their signature sound at the core of each track, the duo have experimented with wistful synths and breathy vocals that are teaming with a restless energy that is impossible to ignore.

10 years earlier, the girls were in a different place. "Aly and I felt personally discouraged by music in general," explains AJ on their time away from songwriting. "We still had so much to prove to people, even though we had made a mark in the industry. It honestly was overwhelming," she adds.

Having already sold over 2 million records worldwide throughout their career, they are no strangers to success- having first made their mark with their 2005 gold certified debut record, Into The Rush which debuted at number 36 on the Billboard charts. They followed with their sophomore effort, Insomniatic, which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard charts. Amassing a global following and constantly touring internationally, the duo were hit with various frustrations, from projects being put on hold due to their acting careers, to songs leaking on line.

Stemming from that, the girls felt the pressures of conforming to a mainstream high-gloss sound that just wasn't them. AJ explains- "That's not who we are - we were uncertain that we'd even be heard among the masses - we just weren't writing that kind of music. We felt like, what's the point?" The duo needed time away - music no longer brought them joy, so they spent the last decade pursuing other creative projects.

"People have been wondering what took so long - and it sounds horrible - but music became an intimidation, to be honest. We were scared to write, we didn't like what was coming out of our instruments - it felt like we weren't going anywhere," adds Aly.

Working with Mike Elizondo (21 Pilots, Dr. Dre, Eminem) who executive produced the EP, and collaborating with Jamie Sierota (former member of Echosmith) & Ryan Spraker, their senses for music were re-awakened. With the new writing sessions, the sisters had a newfound sense of discovery and - as Aly puts it, "music became our friend again."

"Once we were able to embrace who we were and once we started writing again these last few years, we were able to find the direction we naturally lean," she explains. "We're being authentic to ourselves," says AJ of the new tracks. If this is just the beginning, you should stick around to see what happens.

Find Aly & AJ: i n s t a g r a m // t w i t t e r // f a c e b o o k // y o u t u b e // s p o t i f y //

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