At 2:55, where the song should end, it runs one more lap: PLAVE's 'Star Trace'

This is the music video for 'Star Trace', the title track of 'HYPERDRIVE', the fifth mini album PLAVE released on October 12. The Bugs album introduction calls the song the first EDM-based dance-pop track PLAVE has put out, and says the lyrics tell the story of two worlds that are apart yet connected: ASTERUM, PLAVE's own space, and Terra, where the fans are. The music video runs 3 minutes 38 seconds, 39 seconds longer than the audio (2 minutes 59 seconds). We lined its sound up with the audio and stepped through the picture a tenth of a second at a time, and found that 30 of those extra 39 seconds are spent running the final stretch one more lap. All times are from the official music video.

0:00 · Off the line with sound the audio doesn't have

The video opens on the five members gathered at the starting line. Until 0:07, when a car speeds off into the distance after 'VLAST PRESENTS' comes up at 0:03, the high-pitched sounds in the music video are 13 to 16 decibels louder than at the same spot in the audio. Decibels are the scale for loudness, and a rise of 10 sounds about twice as loud to the ear. Sound that isn't in the audio is laid over these few seconds; from 0:08 to 2:55, what plays is the same sound as the audio.

0:19 · Four name tags on the map

At 0:16, the helmet in the driver's seat has 'YJ' written across its brow. At 0:19, a race map comes up on a black screen, and four cars get name tags: EUNHO, NOAH, YEJUN, BAMBY. There are five members, but only four name tags. The remaining member, HAMIN, wears a headset at 0:22 and talks into a microphone. In the first race, HAMIN isn't in the driver's seat but on the radio.

1:14 · In front of the 'TERRA TO ASTERUM' wall

Rain starts to fall around 1:00, and at 1:04 raindrops bead on the 'YJ' helmet. At 1:14, a car slides sideways, and the wall behind it reads 'TERRA TO ASTERUM'. At 1:16.6 'Moves like a signal pulling me again' begins, and at 1:16.8 a blue car hangs upside down in midair. At 1:17.0 the picture crackles and cuts out, then the screen stays black for 0.3 seconds. When it lights up again, YEJUN is sitting with a towel around the neck, with cuts on the cheek and at the corner of the mouth, and at 1:19 '떨어지는 별의 선이 빛날 때' (when the line of a falling star shines) plays. The song has only three different lines of Korean lyrics, and this is where one of them comes in.

1:23 · Gloves change hands, then 'Trust me'

At 1:23, a pair of gloves passes from one hand to another. At 1:24, the one holding them is HAMIN, and 'TERRA TO ASTERUM' is printed across the chest of the shirt, too. At 1:24.5, while 'Trust me, I will hold you, and we’ll be okay' plays, NOAH rests a hand on HAMIN's shoulder. At 1:28, the helmet in the driver's seat now has 'HM' across its brow.

1:38 · From 'TARGET +0.870' to '1:13.113'

Between training scenes at 1:38, '1:14.870' comes up in large numbers, with 'TARGET +0.870' in red underneath. It means 0.870 seconds slower than the target of 1 minute 14 seconds. The song is partway through the second chorus, 'I couldn't wait till you pull me up'. Thirteen seconds later, at 1:51, 'LAP TIME 1:13.113' appears beside the 'HM' helmet: 0.887 seconds faster than the target. By then the song has moved on to 'I can't contain this, you light me up'.

1:56 · This time, YEJUN on the headset

At 1:56, HAMIN walks out of a tunnel alone in a 'MAD BAEZ' jacket, and the scene turns to night. At 2:05, the one wearing a headset and giving a thumbs-up is the blue-haired YEJUN. At 2:11 the drums come back with 'This is the time of our lives', but the bass doesn't return until 2:19.7, eight seconds later. EUNHO's eyes inside a 'YATAZ RACING' helmet at 2:20 and HAMIN's inside the 'HM' helmet at 2:21 appear one after the other, and under the 'ASTERUM GRAND PRIX' sign, ten red lights are lit. At 2:24, the cars take off. The map that comes back at 3:06 reads BAMBY, NOAH, HAMIN, EUNHO. HAMIN has taken the spot where YEJUN was.

2:55 · A song that should end goes back 30 seconds

The audio ends at 2:55. The music video keeps pace with it until 2:55.4, but the moment the picture cuts to HAMIN's helmet, the music goes back 30.2 seconds, to the 2:25 mark of the audio. That's why the final chorus, 'I couldn't wait till you pull me up', comes twice, at 2:33 and at 3:03. The first time, dance scenes are mixed in, and at 2:43 the gear on the dashboard display drops 6, 5, 4. The second time, there are no dance scenes, only the race, and the gear climbs from 5 to 6 at 3:05 and from 7 to 8 at 3:09. At 3:25 the song ends as a blue car and a pink car race off side by side, and only a low, resonant sound is left over a screen of bursting fireworks. At 3:30 a race car drawn in lines of light rises above the night city, and at 3:33 the video ends on the 'Star Trace' logo. The album introduction describes the title as the trace of a promise etched into the night sky: to protect each other until the day they meet again. Apple Music

According to the Bugs credits, the lyrics are by PLAVE with Asher Yelo, Eddy, Rob Grimaldi, Samson and un:named, and the music and arrangement are by PLAVE with HANGANG, MeQue, viewhorse and yeol. HANGANG handled synth, MeQue guitar, yeol bass and viewhorse drums. News of the album's release is in our October 14 news briefing, and earlier songs, starting with 'Wait for you', are in our PLAVE starter guide.