A.C.E B-Sides
It should come as no surprise to their fans, Choice, but K-Pop boy group A.C.E is deserving of far more mainstream recognition than they’ve received. With the group repeatedly owning the more electro and EDM-based title tracks that have become popular within K-Pop as a whole since their debut in 2017, while also tackling different genres in their B-sides, it’s surprising that they have yet to secure a first win on any music shows. For this week’s B-sides, we’ll be looking at four supporting A.C.E tracks that show why people should stop sleeping on them.
“Black and Blue”
The group’s first non-single release was 2018’s A.C.E Adventures in Wonderland, a repackage album containing their three previously released tracks “CACTUS,” “Callin’,” and “5TAR (Incompletion)” along with title track “Take Me Higher.” While member Chan was absent from this album while promoting with temporary boy group UNB, it didn’t stop A.C.E from releasing a banger of a B-side. “Black and Blue” features members Wow and Jun, with the two wanting to bring the object of their desire into their dark world. For a rookie group, it is definitely a darker theme, but they pulled it off so well.
“Do It Like Me”
Promoted alongside title track “Under Cover,” B-side “Do It Like Me” is A.C.E at their finest. The track shows the group perfecting their electro and EDM sound, a sound that they’re still associated with and fine-tuning to this day. Filled with space-themed lyrics and references to stars, black holes, and other dimensions, A.C.E’s “Do It Like Me” is about how hypnotizing their music is to the point that listeners get sucked in and how nobody is doing it like them. The boy group even performed it at a busking event in New York City during their UNDER COVER: AREA US tour.
“Slow Dive”
“Slow Dive” was released on 2019’s UNDER COVER : THE MAD SQUAD and promoted with their title track “SAVAGE.” While the “SAVAGE” music video was a madhouse combination of Suicide Squad meets rebellious schoolboys paired with one of the finest examples of EDM in K-Pop, B-side “Slow Dive” is a track with a twist. Starting off slower but still with that signature A.C.E sound to it, “Slow Dive” picks up tempo during the choruses and the bridge, which gives the track a slightly darker vibe. It’s not hard to believe that, on any other group’s album, “Slow Dive” could’ve very well been a title track.
“Baby Tonight”
After proclaiming in last year’s “Favorite Boys (도깨비)” that our “favorite boys are back” in typical EDM-electro A.C.E fashion, perhaps the most surprising and exciting part of mini-album HJZM : The Butterfly Phantasy was the R&B-laced B-side, “Baby Tonight.” The lyrics talk about feeling bewitched by a girl, which is a sharp departure from the lyrics mentioned in their B-side “Black and Blue.” Not only did HJZM : The Butterfly Phantasy show the group growing and experimenting with other genres, but it showed a growth and maturity in their lyrics as well.