Common Kings – Lost in Paradise

Common Kings are group I discovered recently while at the gym listening to a couple recommendations from Google Play.  They definitely have more of a pop flavour than I usually listen to, but the song was undeniably catchy in its own way.  I don’t know which of those two previous sentences seems more unlikely, the fact I went to the gym, or the fact I’m listening to pop music 🙂

This song falls into a category that I like to call “vacation reggae” (unless you are my cousin Atul who vacations in the Yukon).  Since I will be going on a long awaited vacation shortly (to Hawaii), I thought it would be an appropriate post :)  Common Kings just released an album last month, and I liked the album art (again, the importance of visuals cannot be understated) so I gave it a listen, and luckily the first track was pretty solid.  The band members are all Pacific Islanders who were raised in California, and they are currently touring for their new album right now.  While I can’t speak for all the islands in the Pacific, reggae is very big in Hawaii, which I found quite curious (an investigation for another day!).  Common Kings actually had a concert in Toronto a few weeks ago which I was thinking about going to, but it was on a Sunday night which was not ideal.  While I would stop short of calling myself a fan at this moment, I do like the song and feel like it would be considered radio friendly.  They follow this formula throughout their album (pop-infused reggae), and I could see them becoming successful if this single turns out to be a hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GBBFXe22TQ