CXLXB has been on our radar for a while now. He made his debut in 2018 with a slew of singles leading up to his starkly honest 2020 EP, Figure It Out. Since then, his journey of self-discovery through music has only intensified, and his latest offering CONNECT is a culmination of that.
Opener “Happy Again” sets the precedent for this album – it’s about understanding one’s self, working through personal issues, and remembering that “through the best of times/ and the worst of days/ something’s gonna make you happy again”.
Like much of the record, the track hinges on a woozy guitar composition drenched in mellow vocals and simple melodies, pushing CXLXB’s laid-back persona. However if there’s one thing his sound could benefit from, it’s greater diversity through instrumentation.
But there’s gravity to his work, hidden behind the façade of easiness, and every so often it seeps through, as in closer “Angels and Demons”. Carried by lush hi-hats and transparent lyricism, CXLXB reminds us, “I’m not perfect and I’ll never be close/ please don’t expect that of me”, fleshing out a vulnerability in his writing that really soars at times.
