Daniel Donato's 'Reflector' Is Here to Take You on One Epic Cosmic Country Journey

Chuck out the idea that jam bands can't make studio records as Donato and his band touch live magic on his second album.

If you enjoy heady honky tonk music like this new album from Daniel Donato, why not share or subscribe to Check This Out!? You’ll receive fresh reviews, playlists, features, and more in your inbox while supporting this entirely independent music e-rag. Rad!

If you’re a fan of cosmic country, you’re feasting this year. With fantastic albums from the likes of Rose City Band, Mikaela Davis, The Pink Stones, Dan Horne, Freeman DeJongh, Duane Betts, and Josephine Network, it seems there is one almost every month that glows for those of us who prefer a little neon twang with our jams - if that’s you, add Reflector, the sophomore album from Daniel Donato to your list.

Still in his twenties, Donato is already known as a wiz kid in the scene. Growing up in Nashville, he started busking at an early age amongst the honky tonks on Lower Broadway before joining the Don Kelley Band, the house band at Robert’s Western World, which was a Music City staple until the pandemic. Just a quick jump into Donato’s YouTube channel shows all of the notable folks that he’s played with, from peers like Billy Strings to elder statesmen like Bob Weir, Billy Krautzmann, and Widespread Panic. Still, Reflector is Donato’s best studio effort yet, and his spot is earned as a headlining act.

Bringing along his band, the aptly named Cosmic Country, and producing powerhouse Vance Powell (White Stripes, Sturgill Simpson, Arctic Monkeys), Donato’s vision is focused on Reflector, as he not only explores country jams but also Southern rock and bluegrass. The journey may be extended to fifteen original songs and a little over an hour of running time, but it’s always worth it. “Lose Your Mind” is straight out of the Neal Casal songbook, while “Dance in the Desert” showcases how much talent pulses through Donato and his band with some upstroking funk. “Double Exposure” is a fresh take on disco-era Dead, and “Halfway (In Between)” would have been massive on the country charts of yore, which says plenty about the current state of the commercial branch of the genre.

It’s probably easiest to view Reflector as two sets, with the screamin’ “Sugar Leg Rag” kicking off the back half that is a bit more bluegrass and folk. I am still warming up to this part of the record, not because it’s weak but because the front half blazes so brightly. There’s some beautiful songcraft in “Hard To Tell,” and “Faded Lovin’” is catchy as hell with Nathan Aronowitz running up and down the keys, as he does masterfully throughout. Donato closes things out in true jam band fashion with a ripping reprise of “Dance in the Desert,” completing one truly delicious sandwich thanks to a heady reinterpretation.

The last few years have found the cosmic country field with a hearty harvest, and I’m all here for it. Once again, defying the old idea that jam bands can’t make great studio albums, Reflector is a fantastic outing from Donato and guaranteed to break you out of the daylight savings funk.

If ya dig the album, be sure to check out Daniel Donato’s Bandcamp page, where soundboards of all of his shows are posted, and his YouTube page, which includes choice cuts and full concerts, like this recent one at the Aggie Theater in my hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado:

Reflector is available now on Retrace Music.