Comebacks, concepts and teasers are probably what I most looked forward to as a 5-month-old EXO-L. Luckily, I’ve experienced waiting for a new album thrice in a span of six months.
When EXO-CBX, top South Korean boy group EXO’s first official subunit composed of Chen (Kim Jong-dae), Baekhyun (Byun Baek-hyun) and Xiumin (Kim Min-seok), released their second mini-album titled “Blooming Days” last month, I made the smallest squeal of excitement.
This album has been teased by EXO in their social media accounts weeks prior. But nothing compares to hearing it for the first time.
Listening to it (calmly) for the second time made me realize that certain days indeed had their own specific moods—grouchy Mondays, angsty Fridays, laid-back Sundays—and “Blooming Days” definitely gave us a week’s worth of emotions.
Through the music itself, Monday’s song, “Monday Blues,” justifies what we all feel after the weekend: gloomy, irritable, but seemingly trying to find some sort of motivation to not dread this day.
If “Blooming Day” were to be one of the members’ song, it would be Xiumin’s. His soft voice flawlessly waltzes with the upbeat music, making a smooth contrast that’s easy to listen to, so there’s a reason why he seemed to be glowing the most in the official music video.
Hump day track
Wednesday’s “Sweet Dreams” wishes us the best sleep—but with a hint of uneasiness, as the music haunts us with unknown promise. This song surprised me the most, as it sounds the most different from the usually playful EXO-CBX songs, with the members coaxing you to listen to them. The song seems to tug you to pay attention to what it had to say.
“Thursday” easily became one of my favorites. Just like “Sweet Dreams,” this song is pure temptation, be it through their glazed up vocals or the music whispering in our ears.
“Vroom vroom” immediately starts out fast-paced, which is exactly how we’d all feel on Fridays, just wanting the hours to tick by as quickly as possible. But what finally made EXO-Ls lose their minds in “Vroom vroom” was when Chen rapped for the first time.
Playful ‘Playdate’
The triumvirate is back at its most playful with “Playdate,” and the premise is simple: the song’s vibe plays out our emotions on a Saturday morning, with the weekend finally here and our plans ready to commence.
Sunday’s “Lazy” is almost the exact opposite of the song preceding it; all three members toned it down and gave us the softest voices to help us relax before the weekly grind comes again. But Baekhyun doesn’t hide away his playfulness as he sings out the iconic line “Simple is sexy” that made us all swoon no matter how cliché the lyrics are.
Perhaps the most captivating thing about “Blooming Days” is that it tells a story behind the Korean lyrics we can’t decipher.
It starts out simple in “Monday Blues,” where the persona agonizes over the unsolicited Monday hassle, but finds someone to admire in the morning commute; his emotions apparently bloom in “Blooming Days,” and all the excitement makes him impulsively ask if he could be the person’s boyfriend.
All the glaze in “Thursday” had a reason to be there: the persona promises that the person would be his come the next day; and they finally have their Saturday “Playdate” after all the longing and anxiety.
EXO-CBX being composed of EXO’s diverse vocalists was a risk worth taking. “Blooming Days” was the comeback that made them realize their abilities weren’t limited to the roles they played in a group of talented artists.
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