STARS: 3.5/5

After a 10-year breakup with the music industry, sister duo Aly and AJ are back with a revamped sound and a greater musical maturity.
Their first post-hiatus single — excluding 2013’s ”Hothouse” during their brief post-Disney rebrand as 78violet — is more tonal declaration than lyrical juggernaut, ushering in a more natural, California chill vibe compared to their pop-rock Disney catalogue.   
Unlike the straightforward vocals of the duo’s “Insomniatic” offerings, “Take Me” is a dreamy, synth-pop jam highlighted by drawn out deliveries and restrained vocals that build into a fun and catchy chorus. Despite the electronic bent of the song, the sisters’ vocals are still well-showcased as they hover in the bridge, before building into a more concise, clipped call for action from a romantic interest in the chorus.
Unlike the callouts in previous hits like “Potential Breakup Song,” ”Take Me” is a demand wrapped in gossamer. The dreamy tone masks a greater maturity that highlights the sisters’ growth from pining teenagers to romantically and sexually assertive women, albeit ones that desire to be pursued.
Flecks of desire dot the single in the post-chorus, notably in the line “I know that you would want it, if I could sink my teeth into you.” Though the songstresses desire action, they make it clear they have other priorities if the relationship fizzles, as evidenced by the line “I’ve been spending my attention on you, on you. I don’t wait long cause I’ve got better things to do.”
AJ has commented the track stemmed from personal experiences using dating apps in today’s more ambiguous romantic landscape.
In interviews, the duo has said they were encouraged to return to the studio by Aly’s husband, film producer Stephen Ringer, after dabbling with new music. After some consideration, they agreed it was time.
Alyson and Amanda Joy Michalka, best known by band name Aly and AJ, rose to fame in the mid-aughts after 2005’s “Into the Rush” and 2007’s “Insomniatic,” which yielded wildly popular hits including “Like Whoa” and “Potential Breakup Song.” “Potential Breakup Song” was a breakout for the group and snagged the ninth spot on Time’s “Top Ten Songs of the Year” list for 2007.
After the success of “Insomniatic,” the duo broke from Disney’s Hollywood Records in 2010 to pursue an independent career under the moniker 78violet. The move never came to fruition, and a promised 2014 studio album never materialized.
The sisters chose to focus on their acting careers while away from the music industry, with now 28-year-old Aly starring as the fiery assistant district attorney Peyton Charles on the CW hit “iZombie” and now 26-year-old AJ playing Lainey Lewis on the ABC sitcom “The Goldbergs.” 
In an artist statement on the single, the sisters wrote their hiatus stemmed from artistic doubt and a lack of musical inspiration.
“Since we can remember our first and truest love has been music,” they wrote. “That feeling we get when performing, when writing, when working together is unexplainable. We lost that feeling for a good long time. The idea of trying to prove ourselves as adults has been overwhelming and at times paralyzing. We lost the passion to create. That passion came back.”
In the statement, the sisters also teased other tracks on their upcoming four-song EP, including “Ten Years,” “I Know” and “The Distance,” due out later this fall. The EP will be followed by a full-length album in 2018, and the duo has also said on their joint Twitter account that a music video for “Take Me” is in the works.
If the forthcoming work is anything like “Take Me,” it’s sure to be a bop.