For former Wonderland girl Shaz Condon, 2012 is a year of exciting new beginnings. Repositioning herself as part of four piece band The Beautiful, new single Love's Leaving on first impressions bears much in common with Condon's girl group days - sweet, melodic pop rock; but this time with added grit, crunchy guitar riffs and a definite 'band' vibe.
As with Wonderland, there's obvious debts to The Corrs in the airy, feather-light melodies and sugary vocal harmonies. Condon's vocals remain staunchly at the heart of the track and here she's afforded space to develop a sense of her own voice far more than on Wonderland's self-titled debut, where the vocal duties were obviously shared out piece-meal amongst the group.
Perhaps what stands out most about Love's Leaving though is just how rock it is. Cracking pop tune it undoubtedly is, but in the snarling feedback drenched guitar and Condon's belted ad-libs, the single leaps out as a tantalising promise for even greater things to come from The Beautiful. Popstars often don't get enough credit for sticking it out in the industry, but serious kudos are due to Condon for making a proper go of things - if there's more to come from her in the vein of Love's Leaving, you could very well be looking at one of the most promising new talents on the block. Wonderland, it seems, was just the beginning.
In the stormy, ever-changing waters of the music industry, it's fair to say that girl-band Wonderland were culled before their time. With a Top 10 album under their belt and numerous TV appearances, the decision to let the band go by their record label seemed very hasty, putting a short, sharp end to what seemed the promising beginnings of a bright new pop hope.
The industry is littered with the remains of dissolved groups and the varying successes of their members. Just ask S Club 7. In terms of Wonderland, it seems more prevalent than ever to keep tabs on what the five girls get up to - after all, it's easy to forget that this wasn't just a band putting out music, it was five people, five careers. In this increasingly corporate world, it's important to remember the human element.
One member of the group in particular has already shown she's keen not to rest on her laurels. The super-gorgeous Leigh Learmont has already signed up with Assets modelling agency, putting out a breathtakingly stunning shoot of racy pics - talk about taking phwoar to whole new levels...
She's also apparently in talks with Irish TV Channel TG4. The popstar-turned-TV-star is a path oft-trodden, but one that quite often results in refreshing success stories. The re-invigorating career change we all contemplate at times, so to speak.
Speaking to Irish paper the Herald, Leigh said "I'm having some me time at the moment," and going by how hectic and stressful the Wonderland split must have been, we don't blame her.
In their prime, Wonderland were nominated as Best Band and Breakthrough Artist at the Glamour Women of the Year and BT Digital Music Awards respectively. Who knows, in a few years' time, Leigh might just be nabbing some high profile awards of her own. Definitely one to keep an eye on.
Dear Wonderland Army, Firstly we would like to say sorry you haven't heard from us in a while. As some of you may know already we have parted ways with Mercury Records. We have taken the past few weeks to consider our future as a band. After a lot of thinking and talking we have decided that we will no longer continue as Wonderland. We feel we have given it all we have and we could not take it any further. We want to say a massive thank you to all our fans for the love and support they have shown us over the 3 years we have been together. We really feel we had an amazing time and it will be something we remember for the rest of our lives. Thank you all once again, All our love, Wonderland
When it comes to intimate venues, you don't get much more intimate than the O2 Academy in Islington. It's one of those whites-of-the-eyes places, where the music becomes a physical force, where every throbbing guitar string, every beat of the drum becomes part of the spectacle.
And for The Kixx's headline showcase, the place was absolutely packed.
You could tell the fans were out in force from the moment the band walked on stage to a wave of screams of the kind only teen girls worshipping their favourite band seem capable of making.
There was an impressive array of home-made banners and t-shirts held aloft too - all testament to the popularity The Kixx have already garnered for themselves.
And hovering near the bar, a crowd of aging dads, clearly there to chaperone their daughters to and from the gig. Despite looking like they'd be more at home at a Pink Floyd gig though, when the Kixx started playing, it has to be said, this assortment of fathers were digging the music just as much as anyone else there. Wide-ranging appeal The Kixx clearly have in ample amounts.
And in a way, that was what tonight was all about - as well as my personal favourite Already Gone and current single Standing Where You Left Me (both synth-heavy pop-rock stormers), the band took the opportunity to play a range of new tracks more in the vein of We Begin At The End.
The band have previously been compared with the likes of The Script, albeit a far more cheery incarnation, and its a sound that definitely came across tonight in the band's newer material - the sign of a band unveiling their mature side, a befitting new direction for a group that play all their own instruments.
Indeed, in terms of musical ability, The Kixx are faultless - sharing lead vocals throughout the gig and whipping through a range of assorted flashy guitars, you can tell they possess a keen passion for what they do.
Some bands totally come into their own in a live setting, and The Kixx are one of those bands - the movement, the energy, the mutual feedback of it all.
The band even had a celeb admirer present in the lovely Kasey from girl-group Wonderland, who the guys toured alongside with when supporting Olly Murs earlier in the year.
A nice touch of glamour for a very classy live set!
Standing Where You Left Me is released on the 4th September and can be pre-ordered here.
Let's be honest, Natalia Kills is fit. She's the kind of singer that's so achingly beautiful that you can't help but fall in love with her - a striking electro-goddess come to dazzle us mere mortals into awe.
Of course, it helps that her tracks are some of the finest grade of pop around at the moment. Mirrors, Wonderland - both latch onto your consciousness with an energy that seems almost alive in intensity.
New single Free represents something a little different though - especially in its single version, featuring Will.i.am. More urban, more rhythmic, it's less about the in your face beat and synth combos that make up so much of Natalia's album, and more about pushing her sultriness to the max.
Imploring us to get our money out, Natalia's delivery is playful, but suffused with a vulnerability too - 'Stretch that dollar bill', she says, a reminder that we all have to make ends meet at the end of the day.
Many have said Aloe Blacc's I Need A Dollar is an anthem for these current times of austerity, but it could just as easily be Natalia's Free.
And as she raps so delightfully at one point, 'I could look fresh in a potato sack' - Yes Natalia, you probably could.
To us long-time Wonderland fans, Nothing Moves Me Anymore is like an old friend. The band initially offered the track as a free download from their website, back in the infancy of their album campaign, before they'd even released their first single.
Later, the track cropped up on their taster EP in the form of an acoustic version (all this back when the track was still caled just Nothing Moves Me).
And now, announced as the third official single from the band's debut album, we see them breathing new life into it, unveiling it to a whole host of new potential fans. And those fans are clearly out there - while the band's singles may not have set the charts alight, their album made a very respactable No. 8 in the Album Charts.
Now, the phrase 'Oh, they're an album-artist' has always been bandied about with a kind of disdain, but in reality, it's nothing to be sniffed at. The fact is, some acts simply sell better with their albums than they do with their singles - and Wonderland are one such act.
Is it down to their sound? Or down to their audience? Truth be told, it's a combination of the both, and Nothing Moves Me Anymore is exactly the kind of track that caters to that audience.
Lush, sprawling pop-rock ballad, it has that same gleam of maturity that for me made the girls' album what it was. The track breathes with a kind of world-weary sigh that tells of someone tired of heartbreak and being let down time and time again; 'I've never felt this empty before' they sing on the chorus, telling of hearts 'as cold as stone.'
It's a bleak picture, but one that the Wonderland girls paint with such shimmering beauty. That's their charm, the emotion of their voices coming good in injecting a track like this with such effervescence.
In the past few weeks since the band's album came out, I've seen more and more people clocking on to what exactly Wonderland are about, and if anything, Nothing Moves Me Anymore is the track to help achieve that. A real slow-burning grower if ever there was one, it makes sure to pay its dividends when it does eventually click.
Nothing Moves Me Anymore is released on the 14th August.
Wonderland look set to surge straight into the UK album chart top 10 this week with their debut LP and this glossy cover shoot for The Dubliner magazine seems rather fitting for girls stepping up to the premier league of popstardom.
Glamorous and vampy, the cover sees the Wonderland girls dressed all in black, perfecting that Sexy/Moody poise that all the best stars seem to learn how to do at some point or other.
What does a wonderland mean to you? A personal world of fantasy and dreams, a place where your every desire is made real. Sounds nice, doesn't it? And while the powers of glamorous new girl band Wonderland may not stretch that far, they do make some very good music.
How to describe their sound? Many have referred to Taylor Swift and The Corrs, and depending on how old you are, Wonderland's album would fit nicely next to either of these on your CD shelves. But for the five members of Wonderland - Kasey, Leigh, Sharon, Jodi and Corrina - this isn't so much about fitting in alongside anyone, more about making those all important first impressions any new band needs to establish.
Their self titled debut might come as a surprise to many 'traditional' pop fans - those in search of hectic dance beats and an overload of synths will be left wanting - and to be fair, Wonderland won't be everyone's cup of tea. But the quality of the songs here is undeniable, as are the girls' vocal talents - and it is these attributes that shine through on every track here.
Not A Love Song and Starlight glide and soar with a freedom that seems so often lacking in the technical over-complexity of the charts these days. As an opening to the album, they're perfect. In Your Eyes is like Abba with keyboard supplied by Keane - harmonies take centre-stage with the various ad-libs proving particularly impressive.
For Wonderland, they take every inch of the freedom and fantasy their name entails to craft a record that sounds 100% 'them' - No part of the album ever sounds forced or tired, this is clearly a sound they are passionate about, it that passion pays dividends in the natural, organic tone of every song here.
And for them to then cover such endearingly popular tracks as Adele's Rolling In The Deep and Lady Antebellum's Need You Now takes real confidence - an attribute these girls thankfully aren't lacking. They bring their own angle to both the songs, while remaining on the whole pretty faithful to the originals.
It's on the sublime When The Stars Go Blue that the album reaches highest - a wonderful mid-tempo track with a maturity to it that exceeds the expectations anyone might have for a new girl group just starting out. Yes, it's another cover - but the band lend it such tenderness that it feels so much their own song.
A couple of years ago I feel in love with Bad Lieutenant's Never Cry Another Tear album - and while Wonderland couldn't be further from a band formed of what used to be New Order, both albums are masterful examples of contemporary pop-rock laced with country influences. Indeed, take that album's lead single Sink Or Swim, put some female vocals on it, and it could easily be a Wonderland track.
They are cases in point that a record can successfully stand that uneasy middle ground between genres without shame or prejudice - that a good dose of pop sensibility is never a bad thing. And for Wonderland, it's on When The Stars Go Blue that we hear that best.
The whole concept of boybands adding guitars to their sound and going 'rock' is old news these days - it's been done so many times, with varying degrees of success, that it no longer surprises us. Yet it remains comparatively untouched in popular girl band terms. There's Una from The Saturdays of course, and the delightful Pierces, whose latest album came out only the week before...
And now we can add Wonderland to that list too. Indeed, in many ways, Wonderland's album feels like a cousin to The Pierces' record - both share an impressively keen ear for melody and pair it with dreamy, beautiful harmonies. Both find their roots in the sounds of years long gone by, but carry it with a youthful energy that is positively radiant. Looking to late album highlight Get Your Boots On, Wonderland already sound like stars - and it's a sound that fits them well.
Looking at the album as a whole, Wonderland have it all - the songs, the glossy, glamorous looks, and most importantly; the consistency that marks this debut out as the confident, assured beginning of a pop career that deserves to really shine.
The gorgeous Girls Aloud red-head goes solo with this stunning Major Lazer-sampling track. Feisty rapped verses and a chorus we guarantee you'll fall in L.O.V.E. with. The track is already surging up the iTunes chart and with Nicola launching the single with a DJ set in Hoxton over the weekend, it looks set to do big things this week. The video also features an absolutely inspired dance routine.
I'm a massive fan of this new girl group, who deliver a country/rock flavoured brand of pop on this, their self titled debut album. Not your traditional girl band fare, but Wonderland make the sound their own - especially on highlights like Starlight and their covers of Lady Antebellum and Adele.
To date, there have been many New Order compilations, but never one that included both Joy Division and New Order tracks together on one CD. With a band who's career spans as many years as theirs, there's the tendency that certain key tracks (or your personal favourites) may be missed off, but as a single-disc compilation of the two band's greatest moments, this presents the perfect introduction for a new listener to one of the greatest musical back catalogues of all time. It also includes the incredibly good 'new' New Order track Hellbent.
It's a bit of the old and a bit of the new with this remix compilation from synth master Depeche Mode. Contemporary takes on classic tracks like the amazing Stargate mix of Personal Jesus easily make this album worth the cash - and the three-disc deluxe edition contains enough electronic wizardry to keep you happy until Christmas. It also comes in a posh cardboard box/slipcase type thing and with a booklet printed on some of the glossiest paper I've ever seen in my life.
I featured Wonderland's brilliant new single Starlight on the blog this time last month and it's still one of my favourite tracks at the moment; a real storming pop-rock anthem guaranteed to get audiences up on their feet at concerts. Today the band have unveiled the official video for the track, featuring the girls wearing some rather lovely floral dresses and walking around in a desert. Have a watch below:
Don't you just love re-issues of your favourite albums? All the goodliness of the original record you fell in love with, but now with a whole heap of extra content. It's like Christmas. Of late, deluxe editions have become increasingly fancy: super-glossy packaging, expanded booklets, bonus DVDs; we've seen it all.
So, for any Erasure fans out there (myself included), the news that the band will be re-issuing their classic 80s albums Wonderland and The Circus is something to get rather excited about. Each album will come as a three-disc set containing the original album, b-sides and remixes on the second disc, and a third disc of video content including Top of the Pops performances. You can even order extra-exclusive version of the re-issues from the band's official store here.
The tracklisting of the two albums is as follows:
Wonderland
CD ONE (original album +) - Who Needs Love Like That / Reunion / Cry So Easy / Push Me Shove Me / Heavenly Action / Say What / Love Is A Loser / Senseless / My Heart… So Blue / Oh L'Amour / Pistol / Say What (Remix) / March On Down The Line (Remix) / Senseless (Remix)
CD TWO (b-sides, mixes and sessions) - Who Needs Love Like That (Mexican Mix) / Push Me Shove Me (Extended As Far As Possible Mix) / Don't Say No (Ruby Red Mix) / Heavenly Action (12" Mix) / March On Down The Line / Oh L'Amour (PWL Funky Sisters Say 'Ooh La La') / Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Remix) / Cry So Easy (Radio 1 Session: Bruno Brookes, 15/11/85 *) / Who Needs Love Like That (Radio 1 Session: Bruno Brookes, 15/11/85 *) / Senseless (Radio 1 Session, 5/12/85 *) / Heavenly Action (Radio 1 Session, 5/12/85 *) / Say What? (Radio 1 Session, 5/12/85 *) / Push Me Shove Me (Radio 1 Session, 5/12/85 *)
DVD (promo videos and concert footage) - Who Needs Love Like That (promo video) / Heavenly Action (promo video) / Oh L'Amour (promo video) + 'Live at Karlsson, Stockholm' a previously unreleased concert filmed on 8/8/86 and featuring live versions of Pistol / Senseless / Heavenly Action / Reunion / Sometimes / Who Needs Love Like That / Cry So Easy / My Heart…So Blue / March On Down The Line / Say What / Sexuality / Oh L'Amour / Push Me Shove Me / Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (* = previously unreleased)
The Circus
CD ONE (original album +) - It Doesn't Have To Be / Hideaway / Don't Dance / If I Could / Sexuality / Victim Of Love / Leave Me To Bleed / Sometimes / The Circus / Spiralling / In The Hall Of The Mountain King (From the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 Opus 46 by Greig. Arranged by Erasure) / Sometimes (12" Mix), It Doesn't Have To Be (Boop Oopa Doo Mix)
CD TWO (b-sides, mixes and sessions) - Sexuality (12" Mix) / Sometimes (Shiver Mix) / The Circus (Bareback Rider Mix) / Who Needs Love Like That (Betty Boop Mix) / It Doesn't Have To Be (Cement Mix) / The Soldier's Return (The Return Of The Radical Radcliffe Mix) / Victim Of Love (Vixen Vitesse Mix) / If I Could (Japanese Mix) / The Circus (Radio 1 Session, 10/3/87) / Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Radio 1 Session, 10/3/87) / Spiralling (Radio 1 Session, 10/3/87) / Phantom Bride (Radio 1 Session, 10/3/87)
DVD (promo videos, performances and concert footage) - Sometimes (promo video) / It Doesn't Have To Be (promo video) / Victim Of Love (promo video) / The Circus (promo video) / Sometimes (TOTP, 20/11/86) / It Doesn't Have To Be (TOTP, 19/3/87) / Victim Of Love (TOTP, 5/6/87) / The Circus (TOTP, 22/10/87) + 'Live At The Seaside', a concert recorded at The Dome in Brighton on 17/4/87 previously released on VHS but now available on DVD for the first time. The concert features live versions of Safety In Numbers / Victim Of Love / It Doesn't Have To Be / Don't Dance / Who Needs Love (Like That) / Leave Me To Bleed / If I Could / Oh L'Amour / The Circus / Say What / Sometimes / Spiralling / Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (* = previously unreleased)
If you don't already know about Natalia Kills then you will soon. If you search back through the years with a crystal-ball type device (or Wikipedia/Google) you'll find a whole heap of stuff on the beginnings of her TV/music career. But in terms of her recent material, it all really kicked off with her being discovered by Will.i.am in 2008, who swiftly signed her up to Interscope/Cherry Tree Records.
Natalia describes her own sound as "darker sounding pop music", and for a woman with a track called Zombie on her album, it's a fairly accurate representation of what she's about. Think Gaga's The Fame album, and with first single Mirrors being produced by Akon, there's more than a little of Just Dance about much of her material. But in terms of relative 'darkness', it strays away from the sound Gaga went on to pursue on The Fame Monster. Indeed, Natalia's music follows a more pure brand of pop and she has a remarkable knack of honing in on infectious choruses.
And in new single Wonderland she does precisely that. The track is full of the pure, unchecked attitude and swagger that defines so much of Natalia's work. But added to this is a real sweetness to her voice; as a pop persona she appears far more accessible and open than many of her contemporaries. Harsh mechanical beats and dirty bass in the verses contrast with the soaring synths and guitar of the chorus, painting the sound of a fantasy landscape full of untapped pleasures. The song is a means of escape from the hum-drum of ordinary life to that special 'wonderland' that exists in all our minds.
Not to be confused with the new Sophie Ellis-Bextor track of the same name, Wonderland's next single following Not A Love Song is Starlight. While the full version of the track is yet to premiere yet, there are a number of clips of the track floating around on YouTube including a short extract of the studio version and a live performance.
My personal favourite has to be the dancey 7th Heaven Mix (who have previously re-worked The Saturdays' Higher). It starts slow and subtle before launching into a soaring, spacey chorus - properly epic in all sense of the word. The chorus of 'I wanna dance underneath your light, cos you pull me in like you're on my side. When I die in the day, I'm revived at night. Can I call you mine,' is just amazing; one of those real bliss on the dancefloor moments. And just at the end of the clip you can hear the beginnings of a dub-step breakdown. The mix just got even better.
What I really love is that as dancey as this version is, it retains enough pop sensibility that it could just as easily be presented as the radio version of the track. Fans of Girls Aloud and The Saturdays, if you haven't already checked out Wonderland then this could be the one to convert you.
In terms of the studio version, it's got a real drive to it and like Not A Love Song, really plays to the strengths of the girls' impressive harmonies. The band are currently in LA filming the video and we can't wait to see the finished thing!
Starlight is released on the 22nd May. You can also pre-order Wonderland's debut album here.
Wonderland's brilliant debut EP was released this week, but if that wasn't enough, they've also treated us to a brilliant acoustic session for The Sun. I love how they inject some really grit and soul into this cover of Adele's smash hit Rolling In The Deep. It's an inspired version and really shows the best of what the girls have to offer as a band. Great stuff!
Wonderland are one of the most exciting things in pop music right now. They're gearing up to release their debut single very, very soon - but in the mean time they've treated us to this amazing cover of Rihanna's Only Girl In The World. It shows off the girl group's vocals perfectly and it's nice to see the song work so well in an acoustic setting, so far removed from the all out floorfiller that is Rihanna's original.
When a new girlband makes their first tentative steps into the world of pop, things will always be a little shaky. Expectations – there are a lot to live up to. The pressure to step up to the gauntlet laid down by the hallowed girl group icons of the past. But having a look at Wonderland, they look all set to kick-start their assault on the charts with considerable ease. Take a listen to their brilliant first single Not A Love Song and you’ll hear what I mean. They have the confidence and shine of a group who’s been around for years; that experience and cool edge that really mark them out.
The track itself is something very different too. Think girl bands and you’re bound to jump straight to images of high-tempo, synth-heavy, dance numbers. But not Wonderland, they front up a more guitar-flavoured approach; well-written, modern pop rock that artists like Amy McDonald and The Script have made a career out of. There’s even a slight country vibe to it, but it’s never overpoweringly so – think more Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus – the country flavours always paired with a keen pop sensibility.
Oh, and did I mention how stunning the band are too? They’re properly gorgeous. Many have commented on their uncanny resemblance to Girls Aloud (there’s the short-haired blonde, a red-head, etc.) but it’s a very different kind of look they have.
So, there we have it – Leigh, Corrina, Sharon, Jodi and Kasey. Remember those names well because this hot five-piece look set to be making it big in 2011. You can download their track Nothing Moves Me Anymore for free on their website and their debut single Not A Love Song is released on the 6th March.
