The '80s Synth-Pop Rebirth of Aly & AJ

Aly and AJ Michalka, more commonly known as simply Aly & AJ, have quietly been making some of the best pop music out today. Many fans, of course, remember their music career from over a decade ago, the days of "Potential Breakup Song" and Aly's role in Phil of the Future. But they've been quite busy in more recent years. Aly currently portrays Peyton Charles on the CW's iZombie, and AJ stars as Lainey Lewis on Schooled along with lending her voice to Catra on the beloved animated series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Oh, and then there's all that fantastic music that they've been putting out.

In November 2017, they released their EP Ten Years, which marked their first major release in a decade, since their 2007 album Insomniac. The sister duo was back with an entirely new sound: dreamy and infused with '80s synth-pop goodness. They've returned on May 10 with another EP, Sanctuary, a project elevating the fresh, bright aesthetic they have found in recent years. Title track "Church" was lauded by critics when it was released earlier this year, and now fans have the entire collection to play on repeat.

Having just kicked off their Sanctuary tour, Aly & AJ found some time in their busy schedule to chat with Teen Vogue. They opened up about finding their new sound, shooting the music video for "Don't Go Changing," looking back at the Disney Channel Original Movie Cow Belles, and more.

Teen Vogue: The two of you released a deluxe version of Ten Years last November. What did you learn from that project going into the Sanctuary EP?

AJ Michalka: Ten Years kind of signified exactly how Aly and I want to portray our sound. That '80s synth-pop ended up being something that Aly and I naturally really leaned towards in regards to our natural writing pattern. I think that our fans really took to it in such a way that it kind of inspired this next EP. We're not really straying far from that. I do think this EP is stronger. That's always the goal, hopefully you're making music that elevates you to another level musically.

TV: How did you guys feel about the reaction to this new sound?

Aly Michalka: I think AJ and I went into writing these songs blind, just wanting to write music that we were excited about. It's funny because we never really wrote '80s-inspired pop before. I think because we'd taken such a long break and that was the music we were looking to at the moment, we were looking to a lot of St. Lucia, Peter Gabriel, music that maybe inspired us but more from a standpoint of production than anything. We just naturally started to lean toward that way and that wasn't actually even intentional, really. AJ and I felt very confident that our fans would follow and would be into the music because we were really into it ourselves.

TV: For the "Don't Go Changing" music video, the two of you are wearing these amazing suits. Where do you guys find inspiration for fashion?

AJ: We work with two really really talented stylists, Chris Horan and Amanda Lim, who've been doing a lot of the new music stuff. They're really innovative and total collaborators when it comes to fashion. Aly and I really love that. We're very specific about what we like, but the "Don't Go Changing" video was very much just a personal connection we have with Ferragamo. We met [creative director] Paul Andrew last February during fashion week. We played a show at the Ferragamo launch party for their new perfume and it was the first live show we had played in years, and we played the Ten Years EP and really just fell in love with what he's doing with the company. [Talent relations] over there, Alex Gobo, just stayed in touch and was just super giving and kind. When we said we're coming to New York to shoot this video, we wanted to be fully suited in Ferragamo, and it just worked out.

Aly: We chose to wear one look each for the entire video while we kind of danced around to New York and were really happy with wearing such a strong look that really spoke to us not only as artists but as powerful women.

TV: There are a lot of people out there that are consistently saying that the two of you are making some of the best pop music around right now. What's it like seeing those kinds of compliments?

Aly: It's great. We don't really have any support from any other place except just ourselves and our own team of people that are working behind the scenes. So when we hear that it, it really makes us feel great, that we are actually doing something right. We're definitely under the radar big time — we're not with a major label, we don't really have any sort of backing or financial help in terms of publicity or marketing, so the fact that AJ and I are kind of doing this on our own grassroots style, is pretty incredible and basically miraculous that it's connecting with the fans. We're honored, we think that we are making really f*cking solid pop music and I think we're making better pop music than some that's out there right now. AJ and I have really high taste in the music that we listen to and the shows that we choose to go to and support, so when we hear that it continues to inspire us to bring out the best powerful music we can again and again and again. That's really hard to tap into, and I think that's a tall order to ask from an artist again and again. But I hope that AJ and I can continue to deliver that. We are up to the challenge always.

TV: You two have always been open about your faith but not wanting it to necessarily be a big part of your careers. But on this EP, there's a lot of spiritual imagery, such as church and the sanctuary. Could you speak to finding that balance?

Aly: AJ and I have been always very open about our faith, and I think that's going to automatically drift into our music. When we decided to release "Church" as the first single, we felt that it was a song that didn't necessarily speak about the institution of church but a place that makes you feel at home, whether that's being with your friends and family, a memory of yours, a best friend, kind of going back to your roots is what I think that song is touching on. For some people, that might actually be church, but I think that for AJ and I, we really wanted to touch on the theme of rebirth and feeling like we knew that our fans bring a certain joy and peace and comfort to us as performers and we hope that we bring that back to them as well. So it kind of made sense for us to name this EP Sanctuary because I know that we are a sanctuary for our fans and they're a sanctuary for us as well.

TV: Chace Crawford recently spoke about how it's a bit hard to move on from a project like Gossip Girl because it's available to stream on Netflix and new audiences have the opportunity to watch it. With something like Disney+ coming out later this year that features things you were in when you were younger, how do the two of you navigate creating new art?

Aly: I think you can do you both. I know what someone like a Chace Crawford is saying because as an artist, you do something for years and then you want to move on from that because you're growing as an artist, you're creating new art, and then all of a sudden people are literally hunting done the stuff you did for ten years and it's the first time they've unwrapped it. But I think that's what's so exciting about pop culture. Exposure exists and it makes people really happy, and I kind of think with something like a Disney+ or whatever other streaming platforms they're about to start, it gives people an opportunity to go backward and kind of enjoy this period of time that you know. We were kids when we made Cow Belles and now people are reliving that for the first time.

AJ: You kind of just have to embrace it in a weird way.

Aly:: You do because at the same time we're making new art, and I think you can simultaneously make new and people can still enjoy the old and it doesn't really affect your career these days. I actually think it can help.

This story has been updated.

Related: Aly & AJ Release New Single “Take Me”

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