ot many people expected the Charlatans to be together long enough to reach a seventh album, particularly with their consistent perception as a poor man’s Stone Roses and/or Rolling Stones rip-off merchants. Whether you like them or not, there is no question regarding their tenacity or staying power. Wonderland is perhaps the biggest departure from their baggy roots they’ve taken thus far, but remains totally identifiable as their work.


Recorded in L.A., Wonderland is a further excursion into the funk influences that had been present on previous works. Tim Burgess’ falsetto vocals may be aimed at Marvin Gaye but more often than not rest between Barry Gibb and the squeaky voiced teen from The Simpsons. However, Burgess’ vocal limitations have not held the band from making albums of quality in the past and Wonderland can sit proudly alongside the self titled LP and 1997’s Tellin’ Stories as their finest work.


It starts in swaggering fashion. “You’re So Pretty, We’re So Pretty” verges on blaxploitation, dripping with bass, its rough edge hide a “you and me” song, brilliant for its simplicity and effectiveness. “Judas” which follows is an altogether more straightforward affair, sounding slightly like Morrissey’s “November Spawned a Monster” in places, while implausibly retaining a Curtis Mayfield air.


Upon repeated listens “Love is the Key” proves by far to be the most enduring track. “I found you / I turned you in to America” mumbles Burgess indecipherably in the first line (I had to reach for the lyrics in the sleeve almost immediately). The guitar drenched with wah-wah here does not sound as, in so many cases, the refuge of a band running out of ideas but a perfect addition to an already memorable song. The more tender “A Man Needs to be Told” comes next proving the band can be almost as capable at gentle balladry as brash pop.


Regrettably (and somewhat inevitably knowing their career) it is after this point that the album runs out of steam and becomes more a melting pot of tunes that feel rushed and generally of a lower calibre than the top heavy first half. The instrumental “The Bell and the Butterfly” unfortunately sounds simply like one of their songs without any vocals. Instrumentals should be an opportunity for musicians to express something that cannot be communicated in words; this one seems like a contrived attempt to make a “different” track. “Is It In You?” contains some of the most dubious and potentially hilarious lyrics in the band’s career (and remember they have brought us “Be my Spiderwoman I’ll be your Spiderman”) when Burgess squeaks “Is it in you? I’m a hunk of burning love”.


As a band, the Charlatans rarely flat out disappoint- be it live or recorded- and Wonderland is no exception. It seems like it may be too late, however, for the Charlatans to ever make a definitive and classic LP. There are strong rumours that a Tim Burgess solo album is imminent- if it does prove to be their swansong Wonderland is fitting as a last album because it contains everything that all of the previous albums have exhibited. It’s just a shame that a band as successful and talented as the Charlatans never made a classic.