Guys, EXO-CBX is coming back. Soon. Yay!

For those of you who find my blog through other means than K-pop, sometimes groups that have many members will release an album (or video or mini-album) with a smaller subset of members. This is called a subunit. Because these subunits are typically members who work well together both musically and in personality, these subunits are often more defined and pronounced in mood and concept.

EXO-CBX is one of these subunits. EXO as a whole is currently 9 members, with 8 actively promoting in Korea. (One member, Lay, is promoting in China.) As one of the biggest k-pop groups promoting today, EXO’s music (moreso their title tracks – the ones with music videos) tends to be very “classic.” [Edit: Lies! I just remembered that Wolf exists.] Even when the concept pushes boundaries – like Kokobop’s reggae-influenced drug fantasy – the concept has to be big enough to fit every member’s style and personality, from Suho the Rich Dad to Chanyeol the Creative Dork.

But herein lies the brilliance of CBX. As the three-letter acronym might suggest, CBX consists of 3 members:

• Chen, a superb vocalist and lyricist
• Baekhyun, another fantastic vocalist
• Xiumin, arguably one of the better dancers in the group and, as we discovered on EXO-CBX’s first mini-album, a pretty good rapper with a unique voice

All three are positive, goofy people who can handle a “cute” image well. Chen and Xiumin border on cartoon-character levels of caricaturability, and  Baekhyun is a complete chameleon when it comes to looks. They make a very good team that, while vocal-centric (not that anyone is disappointed with that), is quite balanced in terms of talent.

And – this is the part I like – their releases tend to mirror their personalities in being upbeat and a little bit funky.

I will not lie, I had their first mini-album, “Hey Mama!“, permanently on repeat in my car for entire month of November and again in February. You can’t not be in a better mood after listening to them sing at you, especially with SM’s fantastic musical arrangements in the background. SM is really great at funk-type music and sometimes they get a bass line going real good. I like that.

Anyway, EXO-CBX is in the teaser stage for their next comeback. If the music sounds anything like how the teasers look, this will be the perfect spring album.

I think we all need more fun in our lives.