Blooming Days - CBX
Top South Korean-Chinese boy group EXO’s first sub-unit, EXO-CBX, (comprising of members Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin) returns with a week’s worth of songs on their ‘Blooming Days’ Mini Album (literally, there is a song based on every day of the week on this album!) As suggested by the name, this EP gives off all the exciting and calming spring vibes of the most awaited season after summer. It’s one of those pleasures you simply can’t afford to miss.
TRACK LIST
1. Monday Blues
2. Blooming Day
3. Sweet Dreams
4. Thursday
5. Vroom Vroom
6. Play date
7. Lazy(휴일)
MONDAY BLUES
The album starts off with this smooth R&B track which is exactly like the start of the week. If you ever feel down on Mondays, give this song a listen and you can hear the boys reciprocating your feelings about a tiring Monday after a long, lazy weekend. The track is slow-paced with some subtle beats harmonizing with the stable and swaying vocals of CBX, and has an overall dreamy, euphoric feel to it. The lyrics put the song as the boys convey their feelings of finally have making it home alive after meeting that one girl who has the same routine as them. This song is easy on ears and overall, very enjoyable.
BLOOMING DAYS (花요일)
Blooming Days, the title track, blasts up the energy after the soft tunes of Monday Blues. EXO-CBX has never failed when experimenting with mixing different genres and providing us with one addictive bop after the other. Xiumin’s parts got me hooked, his voice is gentle, intimidating and a mix of everything wonderful and his parts decorate the song so well. The sort-of-rap part nicely compliments the song, Baekhyun did an extremely good job making it smooth, yet so trendy. When the song reaches its bridge, a new colorful flavor change is added which is then topped off with an extremely impressive high note by Chen. Yet it’s the catchiest part of the song “So baby, can I be your boyfriend, can I?” that makes the song ever so memorable! This track is soft yet punchy and indeed, very catchy. It is definitely a song that you can hum all day long as it hits you like caffeine on a Tuesday morning.
Not to forget the music video for this track which points out the theme of this Mini Album so beautifully. SM Entertainment is known for its aesthetic sense of portraying the simplest things. The choreography is the cherry on top; it’s fast, neat, bright, and sharp. This song is a MUST. It wins on all grounds.
SWEET DREAMS (내일 만나)
The track being a mix of dynamic yet soft beats followed by brilliant harmonization from the three singers, Sweet Dreams sounds extremely pleasant to the ears. The synths are very prominent in the chorus which are enough to get anyone easily hooked. It’s one of my favorite songs from this album. This track explains one of those nights when the excitement for tomorrow doesn’t let you sleep (the Korean title of this song translates to “Let’s Meet Tomorrow” which nicely explains the theme for this song).
The exciting beat drop which is followed by continuous bold drum beats make the bridge stand out the most with gentle backing vocals slightly harmonizing with the tempo. To me, ‘Sweet Dreams’ sounds like a happy, fun yet comfortable song, with not too much bold musical technique hindering the vocals, but just the right amount of synths which adds a retro feel and compliments the instrumentation, quite suitable for a Wednesday Night.
THURSDAY
Moving on to the next day of the week, we have “Thursday”. This track starts off with mild piano playing which is then accompanied by gentle clapping and subtle shimmering of bar chimes (the bar chimes won in this track!), while synths lay the choruses, making this track the prettiest of all. The vocals for this track are exquisite and smooth. This song makes me imagine CBX in a dimly lit coffee shop gazing at their lover while saying out the lyrics in an extremely pure manner.
There is even an extreme falsetto battle, turning the bridge in an outburst of powerful vocal performance (a rare sight to see) and then giving the track its smooth ending. Thursday brings forward calming instrumentation, flickering and vibrating synths and soothing yet sharp falsettos which revives my Thursdays and makes me look forward to Friday even more.
VROOM VROOM
Friday comes and we all can relate how our hearts go “Vroom Vroom” naturally. Such is the feeling that this track expresses so energetically that there’s no way on this Earth that you won’t fall for its spell!
Vroom Vroom is a mixture of Retro and Funk-Pop Music. A risky yet fun genre to experience! This track is anything but monotonous; the beat drops and changes into something similar yet easy to discriminate, the vocals go from those nicely pronounced notes to extreme combinations of back-up vocals, to the funky rap parts, and back to the stylish and carefree vocal performance. The part “vroom vroom vroom” absolutely works as a catchphrase. This track speaks for itself: it belongs to Friday nights and shouldn’t be missed!
PLAYDATE
Playdate starts off with bouncy yet consistent strokes of guitars and synths which continue throughout the song subtly. This track features light instrumentation with cheerful and upbeat tempo, giving off happy and joyful vibes. The concept for this song is exactly what it says in the title, a play date: the boys are talking about them looking forward to going on a date with their favorite girl. This track plainly expresses those lighthearted thoughts and emotions. Perfectly fit for a Saturday afternoon ride, it gives off a cute yet happy vibe, and their honey filled voices complement the song beautifully.
LAZY (휴일)
Lazy has a very soft feel with coherent drum beats following along. A gentle instrumentation with a truly strong vocal play. Their voices blend together perfectly in this track, and I personally think that this song highlights vocal attractiveness more than music.
“Lazy” is the song we all can relate to the most in reality; it perfectly explains every Sunday morning, the lazy mood and the messy environment which still puts your heart at peace. This track gives off healing vibes, a time that you have put aside for yourself just to laze around. It’s worth waking up to every Sunday morning. As the last track of this album, “Lazy” did quite a good job, concluding the album in a pleasant manner and also as a satisfying stand-alone track from this EP.
ENDING NOTES
Drum beats, synth, and contrasting styles, harmonization with soft vocals backing up the main vocal performance is proven to be the theme play for this mini album which resulted in CBX showing us their fully bloomed selves whilst experimenting with different genres yet staying intact with the main concept for the idea behind this album. Every song in this EP bears the brand of epic production and composition, every track stands out and every member’s vocal ability can be easily seen and appreciated throughout every song. I must say that CBX (also known as ChenBaekXi) is indeed a powerful sub-unit having great vocals, which blend together exceptionally well, balancing each other and giving us the best result there is. “Booming Days” is an alluring and promising album. It’s surely spring enchanted happiness. It is blooming good!
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