Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country has announced the August 22 release of their highly anticipated third studio LP, Horizons, via Retrace Music. The impending release finds the band traversing country, rock, bluegrass, and funk sounds to produce their unique brand of cosmic country, which accounts for an improvisational heavy display that harkens to a limitless field of exploration chained to Donato’s guitar. Leading the charge is the band’s honky tonk first single, “Broadside Ballad.”
Horizons is Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country’s second set of all-original music, arriving after 2023’s Reflector. The 15-track collection showcases the band’s sonic growth in association with their road dog status and approach to testing material in front of a live audience before putting it on tape. This method allowed the group to observe fan response and make decisions based on its live reception.
Vance Powell (White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, Chris Stapleton, Trey Anastasio) returned as the set’s co-producer after working on Reflector and forging a relationship with the band. According to the official press release, Horizon produces an arc that takes listeners on an ascent via roots-dominated tracks “Sunshine in the Rain” and “Blame Train” before leveling out and slowing the tempo for “Better Deal Blues,” “Along the Trail,” and “Another Dimension.”
The group flexes its ability to deliver an instrumental conversation on “Hangman’s Reel,” before a push of funk on “Prairie Spin.” “Chore” elicits the foursome’s experimental strength before finding an exit after LP closer, “Down Bedford.” Like the live band, the LP features Donato with Nathan “Sugar Legg” Aronowitz (keyboards/vocals), Will “Mustang” McGee (bass/vocals), and William “Bronco” Clark (drums/percussion).
According to Donato, the LP ponders the meaning of human experience. “I wanted the lyrics to be easy to understand, not abstract,” he says. “There are many layers to the meanings and you think about it, but it’s not rocket science to understand them. Trying to maintain a human sound and faith in what humans can do really informs the actual sonics and production of the record, too.”
Pre-save Horizons now. Listen to the honky tonk first single “Broadside Ballad,” below.
Content shared from relix.com.