wonder

Welcome To Wonderland

Any mention of Roll Deep and people invariably start waxing lyrical about the lad Dizzee Rascal and his staccato way with the grime and verbals. Yet this might be about to change as another alumni of the Roll Deep crew finally breaks loose with a debut album that's been bubbling on the pirates for an age now and opens the way for a proper cross-over success. Ladies and gentlemen we give you Wonder... Just as his mate Dizzee sounded both quintessentially British and totally alien on first exposure a few years back (long before he turned up on Band Aid...), Wonder manages to proffer up a similarly appealing juxtaposition throughout 'Welcome To Wonderland' - with his chosen collision of choice being that of claustrophobic atmospherics and expansive compositions. Veritably stuffed with guests, 'Welcome To Wonderland' boasts the likes of Kano, Sway, Virus Syndicate and Gemma Fox amongst its rain-lashed compositions - kicking things off on the dub lashed burst of 'Gods Gift Intro 2002'. From this furnace blast prologue, things rattle into form with the noir-roller 'Chi Flute' - a previous single that matches cavernous baselines and broiling beats with an unstoppable motion that has seen many a stylus battered in recent months. Clattering in next is the Kano guesting 'What Have You Done', where the focus is on bittersweet analogues and dip-dip-dive vocals, before Virus Syndicate kick the door down on 'Can't Stand It' - letting the rave vocals out of the bag to do battle with Wonder's decaying electronic edifices. Elsewhere, 'Death B4' struts alongside the dubstep canal for a tale of misplaced honour, 'Undertaker' is a gothic confection of wide-screen strings, ruptured bass and noir choirs aplenty, whilst 'Call My Name' gets in Sway for some marble-mouthed goodness. Closing on the soulful 'Crazy For You' with guest vocals from Gemma Fox, 'Welcome To Wonderland' is brimming with grit, creativity and sonic flourishes that see it living up to its name...