On first listen,
Alison Wonderland's debut album,
Run, reveals little of the snark, silliness, or over the top anything that might attract pre-release accolades from an edgy EDM tastemaker like
Diplo. Here, her late-album highlight "One More Hit" shines more like the kind of dancefloor diamond
David Guetta might churn out, while "Naked" is the kind of stuttering trap that would fit just as well on the poptacular label Ultra as it would on
Diplo's left-field imprint Mad Decent, so how did this Aussie producer and DJ win the heart of the man who is otherwise known as
Major Lazer? Dig deeper and the appeal lies in the fearless kaleidoscope of styles
Wonderland can cram into a single tune. The
Wayne Coyne feature "U Don't Know" runs through spacy alt-rock, bright synth pop, and brittle trap, with the genres of EDM and disco making cameos somewhere in the middle. "Cold" twitches like a
Nine Inch Nails or
Marilyn Manson number before
Wonderland -- who also sings -- calms the storm with vocals that take the song to a much more pop place; then there's the closing highlight "Already Gone," which starts off in the realm of
Sam Smith before swerving toward the murky land of
A$AP Rocky and his
A$AP Mob. "Ignore" sounds like a
Sia single shattered and pieced back together for something arguably better, but the ethereal number brings up the biggest gripe that the big-room and prime-time crowds might have with the album -- its highlights aren't necessarily slammin'. Get past the fact that the skilled
Wonderland is hyper when she DJs and fairly chilled when she produces, and
Run is a vibrant and wonderfully varied debut. ~ David Jeffries