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.
Wonderland's album is available to download on iTunes now.
