REVIEW: Lost In The Wonder - Cory Wong

Collaboration sits at the very center of Cory Wong’s newest project, Lost in the Wonder. Every track features a guest, and that choice shapes the album’s personality more than anything else. Instead of using collaborators as brief accents, Wong treats each song like an open invitation, letting different voices step into his funk-driven framework. What’s impressive is how consistent it all feels. No matter who’s singing or playing alongside him, his guitar work and rhythmic sensibility act as a steady anchor, showing how flexible funk can be when it’s treated as a shared language rather than a fixed style.

That cohesion, however, is also where the album occasionally holds itself back. Many tracks live in the same tempo range and emotional pocket, creating a smooth, almost uninterrupted listening experience. At times, Lost in the Wonder feels less like a sequence of individual songs and more like one long groove stretched across multiple chapters. Depending on your mood, that can be deeply immersive or slightly flattening. The subtle melodic influences running throughout help tie everything together, but their restraint can also work against the record, making certain moments blur together when a bit more contrast or risk could have given them sharper definition.

The album opens strong with “Stay With Me”, a disco-leaning funk track washed in colour and light, hinting at city-pop warmth and carefree movement. “Afterglow” quickly emerges as a highlight, its hypnotic guitar loop pulling everything inward as the groove tightens and refuses to let go. “Better Than This” leans into a sleeker, more electro-pop direction while staying grounded in bright strings and crisp funk guitar. “Tongue Tied” brings back familiar Vulfpeck-adjacent energy, playful and precise, before “Blame It on the Moon” lands as one of the album’s clearest standouts, modern funk at its most confident, driven by a chorus that sticks effortlessly.

As the record moves forward, some tracks blend in more quietly. “One Way Road” fits seamlessly into the album’s flow, reinforcing its cohesion without demanding much attention on its own. “All Night, Alright” brings things back into focus with a catchy, repeatable hook that grows with time. “The Big Payoff” strips vocals away entirely, letting the instruments converse freely in a spacey interlude that briefly resets the album’s energy.

By the time Lost in the Wonder ends, it doesn’t aim to astonish. Instead, it leaves behind a sense of ease. Cory Wong isn’t reinventing his sound here. He’s enjoying it, refining it, and sharing it generously. The album doesn’t chase wonder. It trusts that it’s already there, living inside the groove, waiting for you to stay with it a little longer.