Okay, so some songs have to be listened to in the Summer (preferably with a glass of iced mango lassi!) and this is one of those songs. Before reviewing the track, I will share the press release for the single first before making a few reviewer like comments!
King Cnut’s blend of reggae, funk, and rock delivers a positive and unifying sound guaranteed to get the body, mind, and soul moving and grooving toward a brighter future in the embrace of a people in kinship with sand, salt, and waves.
“In 1862, famed archaeologist Cornelius Stapleton discovered what appeared to be the last resting place of Cnut, King of the North Sea Empire. Within the dark recesses of his buried longboat, Cornelius found a series of strange wooden boards alongside a collection of tablets inscribed with mysterious runes.
While the tablets initially defied translation, modern technology has since unlocked their full meaning—revealing a tumultuous period in the North Sea Empire and instructions for creating a prophesied music called regi musica (“music for the king” in Latin).
Extensive research also confirmed the wooden boards as the earliest known ancient relative of modern surfboards. Cornelius’s obsession with this discovery cost him his career, but his legacy lives on….”
Cnut, of course, in history was the father of that wonderfully named monarch Harold Harefoot, but I throw that in as a general aside lol.
My review:
I really loved the laid-back groove to “Sunray,” it had everything that a bit of reggae rock should have and the vocals were cutting the mustard nicely for me, dreamy, hammock-based reggae. People forget sometimes how important the drums are in reggae, as they give the heartbeat of the track. The lyrics give a harmony and a gentle chorus to unwind to before the trumpet takes over a minute or so and adds a fresh vibe.
Thus, “Sunray” is the kind of tune that sneaks into your bones and persuades you to slow life down just a little. King Cnut might be playing it cool, but the craftsmanship here is seriously tight—sunshine reggae with real depth and a cheeky wink.
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You can stream music from King Cnut here
By Anna-Louise Burgess