Celebrating 1 Year Of Sarah Darling’s ‘Wonderland’ LP

On Friday, June 7th, 2019, Iowa native Sarah Darling released her much-anticipated fourth studio album ‘Wonderland’. The LP was written, recorded, and mastered in the UK making it a truly remarkable sonic fusion of Nashville and British sounds. The record captured the hearts of her fans across the world and cemented her status as an adopted Brit when it topped the Official UK Top 20 Country Album Chart.

To celebrate the albums 1 year anniversary fans from across the world have submitted pieces on what the record means to them:

Andy Teo

‘Wonderland’ is a special album, I got a sneak peek the summer before it was released whilst driving Sarah around London for a photoshoot. My personal faves are ‘Call Me’ my go-to driving song, full of summer joy, and ‘Diamonds’ is such an epic song. I listen to it when I’m having a tough time, especially relevant in the Coronavirus crisis. It speaks of transformation under pressure.

Katie Turney

‘Wonderland’ is such a beautiful record and it’s meant so much to me. It was the soundtrack of my summer, driving with the windows down and of wandering through the busy streets of London. But it also brought me friendship and whole new experience of live music. Sarah tells such amazing stories and really transports you with her songs and I never lose that no matter how many times I listen to ‘Wonderland’ – it brings out the same feelings every time! I love Sarah herself and everything this album meant for her, and that you can hear her experiences and feelings shine through every lyric. But my favourite thing about ‘Wonderland’ is how it brought me to Laura, and we’ve been chasing this dreamer together ever since.

Tony Mendes

‘Wonderland’ for me is a beautifully crafted album which is a delightful fusion of country and pop and consists of beautifully heartfelt written songs displaying wonderful lyrics which Sarah then adds to with her beautiful vocals which always touch me.

James Craddock

As much as I love Sarah’s traditional country sound I do think even though this isn’t that, ‘Wonderland’ is right up there with her previous albums in terms of quality especially ‘Call Me’ and ‘Shine’. To me, the album sums up British weather perfectly with ‘Blue Sky’, ‘London Fog’, and ‘A Little Bit Of Rain’, along with the fact that she wrote and recorded much of it in the UK. I am a big fan of slow, sad songs and ‘A Little Bit Of Rain’, and ‘Diamonds’ really do it for me. Although the whole album is great.

Scott Alexander

‘Wonderland’ was my favourite album of 2019, it also coincided with my first experience of seeing Sarah perform the album live at the Òran Mór a few months before its release. So from a personal standpoint, this wonderful rollercoaster of an album will always remind me of that special moment of seeing her live for the first time.

Alan O’Kelly

When I first heard Sarah Darling’s 2016 album ‘Dream Country’, my reaction was, “Sarah has made her masterpiece, she will never be able to equal it”, but in 2019 she brought out ‘Wonderland’ and with brilliant tracks like ‘Shine’ and ‘A Little Bit Of Rain,‘ I realised she had pulled off what I thought was impossible a second masterpiece. It’s a magical album and one I come back to regularly. Sarah Darling has the ability to speak to me through her music.

Nicola Heals

I’m a key worker, I work on the checkouts in a supermarket, and work is tough at the moment but whenever I have a bad day and feel upset I put Sarah Darling’s ‘Wonderland’ on and I can feel all the tension leaving me and I start smiling again. Sarah has the power to make anyone smile no matter what they’re going through.

Jeff Hauschen

It is one of my all-time favourite albums, it has songs for every mood and her heavenly, angelic voice is a joy to listen to. Sarah is truly amazing.

Mark Hazell

I only have to look at how many times I’ve listened to the whole album – 250+ and counting – to show how much I adore it. My favourite song changes regularly (currently ‘Blue Sky’, as it’s fitted perfectly with the weather we’ve been having). The album came out on the Friday I left one job to start another, and after a long spell of frustration, annoyance and mild depression in that old job, the big breath of fresh air and positivity that came through courtesy of Sarah’s beautiful voice just set up the whole summer. It ticks every box a great album should, and deserves to be heard by as many people as possible. Have I mentioned that I love it?

Mohinder Singh Perihar (aka CloudwatcherUno)

For me, ‘Wonderland’ is the perfect harmony of experiences that Sarah Darling brings as a country artist with British roots. Songs like ‘London Fog’ couldn’t have been written without experiencing the British weather. It’s such a departure from her previous album ‘Dream Country’. Seeing her play songs like ‘A Little Bit Of Rain’, and ‘Talk About The Weather’ at concerts before the album was released you could tell there was something special about these songs. My favourite from the album has to be ‘Shine’ with lyrics such as “Like the moon on an August night, like a Saturday Broadway neon light burning bright that’s what I feel like, you make me shine”. It’s a phenomenal album and I can’t believe it’s a year old. It’s a timeless collection of songs.

Jeff King

Sarah Darling is so aptly named and is one of my favourite ever discoveries and is now someone I’m proud to call a friend. Her album ‘Wonderland’ is full of evocative, thoughtful, sweet, loving, and meaningful songs put across with such sublimely sweet and emotive voice that resonates throughout the album. Her songs inspire and motivate me and are sweet music for my ears.

Paul Wootton

‘Wonderland’ has so many inspiring and thoughtful songs with meaning. There are so many songs sung by a truly amazing lady in Sarah Darling.

Michael Evans

Sarah’s vocals are both stunning and mesmerising, these coupled with brilliant songwriting made this a truly outstanding piece of work.

Lauren Bayram

I remember hearing ‘Call Me’ for the first time last year and that song was the reason I became a fan of Sarah’s. Seeing her at C2C Festival and Nashville Meets London was one of my highlights and how the crowd enjoyed the songs she performed from ‘Wonderland’.

Leo Delperdang

I discovered Sarah Darling’s music just prior to her release of ‘Wonderland. I credit and thank Tony Mendes, a London music fan, for sharing her music online so that I could find her. Though still new to Sarah’s music I traveled to London to see her sing at Nashville Meets London. That will forever be a favourite trip as not only was Sarah’s voice beautiful and her music great but when I approached her at her merch table after her set she already knew my name. Sarah and I had never met, but the Iowa girl knew this Iowa boy before I could say hi.

Ian Westwood

Such a great album that lifts you, it takes you by the hand taking you on a beautiful journey, through sad and happy times, but leaving a warm happy feeling in my heart. Sarahs sweet voice is a treasure, comes from a heart full of joy and love she clearly has for life.”

From the amazing messages above It’s clear that the ‘Wonderland’ record and Sarah herself hold a special place in her fans’ hearts and for me, this CD will forever bring back amazing memories from the summer of 2019. Everybody has that “one summer” that forever remains as the best and I have a feeling last years will be that for me. Amazing memories of spending time with Sarah, meeting friends for life, traveling across the world, all to see this sweet angel perform live will be treasured. ‘Wonderland’ is a timeless record and it will always transport me back to happy times and I will it carry it with me for life, especially as I have it tattooed. I’m grateful for Sarah and her music and for always transporting us to beautiful places.