A.C.E. is back with their newest mini-album, Undercover: The Mad Squad. With the title alluding to the blockbuster film Suicide Squad, it was no surprise seeing similar imagery portrayed in their music video for title track “Savage.” 

The song itself is a wild ride, starting out with eerie electronic flute sounds and vocal ad-libs before the beat drops transitioning into the first verse. The track then moves from sounding like something inspired by The Twilight Zone to something you could hear at any hip-hop club. However, the electronic sounds play the lead role while the beat supports. The song makes several transitions before hitting the chorus, where the track makes a 180 degree turn to a pure EDM track. Like many tracks this fall, “Savage” has an easy-to-sing Korean chorus: they repeat the word 타자 (taja), which means “let’s ride.” If nothing else sticks from the song, you will be singing “taja” for days. 

The video itself is a fascinating array of colors and visuals. The music video starts out with the members grouped together on the stage of an opera house. This is where viewers get their first glimpse of the choreography. The members as a whole alternate between the opera house and a white marble ballroom for their choreography shots. These shots alternate between other sets including an alley, an aesthetically designed living room, and a room with a single red chair illuminated by lights hung haphazardly. The members also sport three different outfits: styled red suits and squad outfits. Byeongkwan draws attention with a style similar to Harley Quinn, and Wow with an appearance much like that of the Jared Leto Joker complete with lime green hair. The colors of the video alternate between bright and punchy to dark and mysterious. They also play with lights and shadows by changing the lighting in unpredictable manners, adding to the overall level of “madness.”

All in all, A.C.E. is proving yet again that they are a group we should be paying attention to. 

Check out A.C.E.’s music video for “Savage” below.