Today I've been listening to Come Come Come Baby, which is the latest release by the all-female group Baby Vox. Baby Vox is trying to grow up and leave behind the "bubble gum" look and sound. The space-age intro to this CD states that "now it's time to change, to change it from the old." Whether or not the Baby Vox succeeds in finding a new style with Come Come Come Baby will be left up to the listeners' judgement.

You've probably already heard the first release off the album, Get Up [MP3]. This was a good choice for a summer release???not too challenging, but upbeat enough encourage some grooving to the music. Most of the cuts on this album are funk/dance tunes like Get Up [RealAudio] and Killer [RealAudio]. I find these two tracks almost interchangeable, although Killer has the better vocal lines in the chorus than Get Up. If you like Get Up, you'll probably find yourself listening to the remix [MP3] with the same pleasure (did you know you could write an entire song using only the word "up"?).

Baby Vox doesn't offer an original sound until track five, Flower-Print Bikini [MP3]. This is truly a beach tune, halfway between Don Ho and Jimmy Buffett. And to continue with the sand-and-surf sound, the next track, Sarangheyo [MP3], is clearly evocative of an island paradise. After listening to these two songs, all I wanted to do was buy a plane ticket to the Caribbean. Obviously, this album was designed for a summer release. Why else would it include track nine, Summer Story [MP3], a song which starts out sounding as if we were all going to the circus? Summer Story has some nice melodic passages and also some well-placed percussion. If the producers time it right these songs will accompany every romantic intrigue and escapade of the summer.

Mask [MP3] is a funk tune that turns disco in the chorus. This song also bears witness to the rampant influence of hip-hop in Korean pop today. Track ten, Useoyo [MP3], goes for funk as well but is ultimately another dance tune, mostly because of the rigidity of the drum beat. Love and Ecstasy [MP3] was written for a technorave. I wasn't really taken with the opening of the song???the driving beat of club rave is pretty unoriginal by now???but once the vocals began, I started paying more attention. The breathy lyrics (all in English this time) are ethereal and ghostly.

If you're searching for ballads, Baby Vox 3 probably isn't the album for you. Only Missing You [MP3] and Hanulgwa Hamkkehan Sarang [MP3] could really be called ballads. Of the two, I think Hanulgwa Hamkkehan Sarang shows the most promise. Finally, the outro track is a quiet passage of electric piano evocative of New Age music. I'm not sure it fits in with the rest of the album, but listening to it is a nice way to relax after a hectic day.

Did Baby Vox find a new style in this release? Listen to Muh Ri Ha Nun Nal [RealAudio] from Baby Vox 1 or the two big hits from Baby Vox 2, Change [RealAudio] and Ya Ya Ya [RealAudio], then draw your own conclusion.