Daniel Donato clearly has two dominating musical influences: Cosmic Cowboy greats like Gram Parsons, and The Grateful Dead. And the two blend together remarkably well as proven with Reflector, Donato’s first album of all original material. The collection is a hefty 15 tracks but guaranteed to win over a whole new crop of music fans.
Reflector follows 2020’s A Young Man’s Country, and perfectly builds on that foundation amping up the psychedelia with swirling guitars, church organs and Telecaster twang. “Lose Your Mind,” the opening track sets the tone perfectly, with its spirited freeform jams and carefree vibe. That tone doesn’t let up until the end. “High Country,” one of the early singles, with its liberal use of pedal steel throughout and impressive snare fills scattered around shows some strong musical experimentation. Speaking to that song, Donato said, “There is a fine line between what is real and what is your imagination, but yet, both inform each other. ‘Hi-Country,’ is a symbol of this strange ever-present duality in life. It is a place that you are en route to physically, yet spiritually, you are already there. Life is but a day’s work, and ‘you got all day to make it true…’ in the Hi-Country.”
And if that sounds a little hippie-dippy, fair enough. But there is no denying how infectious the number is. You get a real sense of the joy that Donato and his band get from playing this music and that feeling is transferred to the listener. The acoustic jangle that intros “Rose in the Garden,” shifting into a sped-up Hony Tonk shuffle is another example of the band’s musical expansion from A Young Man’s Country to Reflector. Also of note are a couple of impressive instrumentals, “Sugar Leg Rag” and “Locomotive No.9”.
There are few contemporary artists like Donato who have successfully been able to merge that late-1970s Cosmic Cowboy sound coming out of Austin with the trippy Bluegrass psychedelia perfected by the Dead without coming off as contrived. One of the best songs here to introduce Donato to the masses is the rollicking, Bluegrass funk “Dance in the Desert”- a track so strong he caps off the album with its bookend, “Dance in the Desert Pt. 2,” a slightly darker take on the song that just as effective in showcase the band’s creative prowess.
One Response
Excellent review and very well said: “There are few contemporary artists like Donato who have successfully been able to merge that late-1970s Cosmic Cowboy sound coming out of Austin with the trippy Bluegrass psychedelia perfected by the Dead without coming off as contrived.” It’s also true that his live band and touring work ethic are stellar… I see lots of live shows and Daniel Donato and his band are top of my list as far as touring road warriors with high energy, creativity, varied night to night setlists — and just plain fun to see.