Horizons, the second LP from Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, is a step in the right direction for a band at the forefront of a renewal of country and bluegrass music.
The album is filled with material previously performed live, taking on a new life in the studio, where the band could bring the live experience of each song and seek out a deeper vision for each track, both on Horizons and on stage.
Donato, born in New Jersey and growing up in Nashville, had his interest in a wide swath of music stoked early by his parents, inheriting his mom’s Deadhead genes and playing Guitar Hero to hone what would become his craft. Donato reflects on his early years, saying “When I first started playing music I kinda had this fervor I wasn’t able to understand. There was some sort of a driving force that was pushing me northward to keep pushing and keep doing and keep inventing myself (by) either practicing more or writing more, playing more. I didn’t know why that’s what I was doing. I feel like it chose me.”
On Horizons, Donato takes the listener across a spectrum, from energetic roots to early, light country and psychedelic country-rock. The scope of the album is a rise, fall and blast off of 15 tracks that will pique your interest, if not gain your full attention.
Producing the album is Vance Powell (White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, Chris Stapleton, Trey Anastasio) who returns as a co-producer, following his production work on Reflector.
Starting off with “Blame the Rain,” a bit twangy that can throw the listener off, but hold on tight for this one, and the up-tempo foot-stomper that follows, “Sunshine in the Rain,” where Donato’s signature guitar sound is interspersed with playful piano of Nathan “Sugar Legg” Aronowitz.
Steel pedal guitar is featured on “Along the Trail” and “Yonder,” a classic journeyman travel song, Horizons first single “Broadside Ballad.” The high tempo hoedown vibe of “Hangman’s Reel” is the perfect end to the first section of the album, 9 tracks in, if you’re not sold, the energy shift should convince you.
See, here where it gets CoSMiC. The ‘Cosmic Country’ part of Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country is the experimental, instrumental and improvisational sections of some songs that expands in a live format, giving fans a little bit of the country/bluegrass they seek, and the improv they didn’t know they needed. A disco-reggae vibe from “Prairie Spin” starts this portion of Horizons, followed by “See Through” with more strong piano presence from Aronowitz on a track that could fit neatly late in a live show.
The longest track on the album at 11:19, “Chore” starts in one direction, jumps up a few notches into the true Cosmic Country about five minutes in, bridging psychedelic guitar builds with a full band effort driving the song forward. A marquee track, “Chore” can blast off for double the track time in a live setting, as seen below in 2023 at State College, Pennsylvania.
A tender ballad late in the album, “Another Dimension,” and sing-along of “Valhalla” are where this listener recognized a sound Donato channels, perhaps unintentionally – Railroad Earth. Both are from New Jersey and have the ability to jam conservatively amid their individual roots/reggae/Americana sounds, with Donato’s sound a generational growth from Railroad Earth.
The finale, “Down Bedford,” is your standard Donato song, a heartfelt tune punctuated by a refrain “Have you any time to go home?” which precedes a simple breakdown that unexpectedly shifts tempo as the full band arrives together for a furious jam session. More and more energy is generated as the space is explored, launching into Donato leading with furious electric guitar, before coming back full circle to the refrain.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country features Donato (guitars/lead vocal), Nathan “Sugar Legg” Aronowitz (keyboards/vocals), Will “Mustang” McGee (bass/vocals), and William “Bronco” Clark (drums & percussion).
Catch Daniel Donato at Perinton Center Park Amphitheater in Fairport on September 6, The Westcott Theatre in Syracuse on September 23, Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs on September 25, and The Capitol Theatre on October 25. Tickets are available here.
Key Tracks: Chore, Down Bedford, Hangman’s Reel, Sunshine in the Rain
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