Review: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country - ‘Horizons’

“Cosmic Country” is not only the name of Daniel Donato's band, but also the musical philosophy that drives it —a sonic wanderlust that sees the band effortlessly bounce between classic country, Southern rock, psychedelic jam, and Americana, sometimes within the same song. This new style of country music emerged in Donato's last album, Reflector, and has been further refined on his new release, Horizons.

Co-produced by Donato and Vance Powell (White Stripes, Chris Stapleton), Horizons sets the bar high right out of the gate. Every good country album needs a train song, and Donato delivers with the album's first track, “Blame the Train.” It's one of the more straightforward classic country tracks on the album, and a reminder when he gets experimental later in the album that he has a firm grounding in the classics.

For fans of jam-oriented fare, Donato has plenty for them, too. Clocking in at over 11 and 10 minutes respectively, “Chore” and “Down Bedford” bring the kind of instrumental improvisational skills that will appeal to fans of Phish and Umphrey's McGee. Of the two, “Chore” is the heavier rock track, with its middle third a rock guitar clinic full of fat licks and chops galore. “Down Bedford”, Horizons' closer, is more oriented toward fans of The Grateful Dead, with a blend of folk, rock, and country rhythms. Both are sure to be live favorites in the band's playlist for years to come.

“Better Deal Blues” is a pedal steel-heavy (courtesy of guest Brett Resnick) Laurel Canyon-esque meditation with some of the album's smartest lyrics. “Along the Trail” is a Southern rocker in the style of Little Feat. “Prairie Spin” is a psychedelic slice of rock with some seriously funky bass.

But the album's highlight track is its sole instrumental, “Hangman's Reel.” While clocking in at a comparatively brief five minutes, “Hangman's Reel” holds its own with the lengthier jams. Here, guest fiddler Lillie Mae Rische gets a chance to shine on what is, as the title suggests, the album's most danceable track. Rische's fiddle trades solos with Donato's guitar and Nathanael Aronowitz's piano, passing off leads like they'd been playing together for decades.

I'm always on the lookout for someone who is doing something unique in the world of roots music. When you've got the guts to name your genre, you'd better be able to back it up. Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country backs it up and more on Horizons.