Easing us in with intricate electric guitar and enigmatic drum patterns that evolve into a rock frequency, Bursting Wonderland open their album David vs. Goliath with the song, Bursting World.
A clean alternative rock vocal from the band’s vocalist Ania Chmielewska hooks us in with lyrics such as “I said clearly, baby don’t, come into my fucked up world…”
The introspective lyrical journey that we are on continues with, “I will collect my stuff, cos I’m too tired now” as the song builds with emotion fused with detailed guitar work and powerful drums designed by the composer of the project, Mimmo Ripa.
The record continues to give us life with tracks like Flames, Followed You, Rebels, Chaotic Mind and Malanga which all touch on emotive subjects from our protagonist who is dealing with losing their grip, self-realization, the situations that they are in and more cerebral themes of love, loss and freedom. We are in awe of the guitar solos featured in Flames that really paint a picture of how great the band would be to experience live. In Chaotic Mind, Ania boldly sings, “have mercy daddy, recognise the God in me..”
Summer’s End is a standout track which also features a powerful music video directed by Antonio Zannone featuring crashing waves, cinematic videography, an enigmatic and charming performance from Dave Juno, with moving and sometimes psychedelic visuals, as Ania questions profoundly, “would you live for you?”
Our favourite scene from the video is the guitar solo, drenched in blue with Dave Juno holding a guitar, shirtless in a room with a concept television, we are completely hypnotized.
Speaking on the narrative of the video, the collective states, “These are the days of farewell, the reflective moments between melancholy and determination that characterized those moments, as a final greeting to what they had dear to you.”
The band continues, “Summer’s End photographs the emotional condition of Mimmo, prior to his choice of living in a foreign land where he could look for a new and focused path to his musical aspiration.”
With reference to their style, the band says, “[our] sound is heavily influenced by the grunge scene and hard rock of the 1990s, blended beautifully with [our] love for soft rock and the haunting guitar solos reminiscent of 1970s rock.” We love the fusion of decades and nuanced styles!
Based out of Galway in Ireland, Bursting Wonderland rose from Ania’s unfulfilled, long-time dream of recording an album, where she could finally materialise her creativity and imagination. Mimmo however was already an experienced musician. Born and raised in Italy, living in Ireland for a decade at that time, had recorded many albums with various formations and bands in the past in both countries.
The themes that emerged from Ania and Mimmo to shape the record include “politics, religion, spirituality, revealing new point of views regarding people, relations with one another and unspoken, harsh thoughts occurring throughout life.”
Speaking on their collective intention, Bursting Wonderland say, “The aim is to also express the raw truth behind art and everyday life. [Our] name, music, and mission are about stripping down all the bells and whistles of showbiz and reveal the real deal behind it.”
The record continues with It Will Pass, which starts of more minimalistic with Ania’s elegant vocal fused with guitar details before the classic rock sound that we have become accustomed to comes to fruition.
Ania sings introspectively, “Hope it won’t last, hope it will pass this state of mind, this pain inside. Hope it won’t last, hope it will pass this state of mind, this pain of mine.”
In Memory Of also features a music video set in nature, showcasing elegant cinematography with intimate acting performances as the actress in the video cries tears of glitter whilst Ania questions, “how will I survive this life?” as she sings of her loss.
Bursting Wonderland say that their aim is to “exist and be honest, believe in what it is worth to live, to praise culture, love, romance, hard work, empathy. To react and revolt to any passive-aggressive, toxic, corrupted way to look at the world, to go against driving world into a dark place.”
We love the modus operandi of the band and what they have created dimensionally, visual and sonically. The final track on the record is aptly called Universe and features a lighter introduction with percussive details before Ania sings about chasing nebulas, travelling through space and burning flames.
Hypnotized by the record, we have added Summer’s End to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and have been exploring the work of Aboutmeemo which features songs including 11 11 and We All Spin Around!