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Despite our supposedly enlightened rockism-versus-poptimism debate, the question persists: Is Jane Pop Star manufactured or “real”? And thus we miss the forest for the trees. Why not ask who turns plasticity into an advantage and not a deficit? Amid a fracturing pop landscape, the sister duo Aly & AJ look like dolls, but just might be skilled toy makers with their hands on the molds.
The two Southern Cailfornia natives, Alyson Renae “Aly” Michalka and Amanda Joy “AJ” Michalka (curly and straight hair, respectively), possess a pop-rock acumen many of their High School Musical–aged peers would do right to follow. We tried to dismiss them: The duo comes Disney-approved and their latest, Insomniatic, features the hilarious explanatory footnote, “[a] new word previously undefined…until now.” Yet it’s a guilty pleasure–laden gem.
Each sister has unpretentious, powerful pipes, capable of throwing in Alanis-inspired yelps. And their backing band has the to-the-point, ruthless efficiency of a Chipotle assembly line.
Whether puppets or not, the girls exhibit superb taste in handlers. Songwriters-producers Daniel James and Leah Haywood lent their last effort, 2005’s Into the Rush, a resplendent contemporary Nashville sheen. Insomniatic has a similar sublime professionalism, with help from check-collectors like songwriter Dan Wilson (Dixie Chicks, Semisonic) and producers Antonina Armato and Tim James (Miley Cyrus).
It tastes like junk food, but the Taste is serving up Harold’s and Billy Goat burgers, not Moto’s molecular gastronomy. Bubblegum rock, with its mysterious calculus and haiku brevity, has new torchbearers.
