Donoma - Falling Forward (2017)

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Written by William Elgin, posted by blog admin

Avant-garde, Wisconsin rockers Donoma who take their name from Native American Omaha origin (the name meaning “sight of the sun”) really lays on the throttle throughout the twelve tracks of their second long-player Falling Forward.  With an absolutely demon possessed front woman in Stephanie Vogt and a ragged sound featuring all sorts of electric shock and varied instruments, there’s personality to spare in each and every song contained herein. 

The opening couplet of “Sick” and “Jack in the Box” are chockfull of dirty guitars, country twang, slide licks and chuck wagon rhythms that reckon of spaghetti western movies, 60s legends The Doors and The Stones and even the Dead Kennedys in “Rawhide” mode.  “Memory” lifts the same template but gussies up the guitar work in noisy, angular pop and fiery solos set to the key of Robbie Krieger.  Vogt’s trembling, vibrato-rich blues voice is an easy standout, crafting a monster melody pattern that just takes over the brain while the rhythms drive hard and the violin/viola additions mix up a sarsaparilla of sultry rock n’ roll.  “A Change is Gonna Come” is a Sam Cooke cover twisted into a Joplin-styled guitar churner that manages to capture the feel of the howling blues queen’s music without sounding like her, all the while possessing even grittier, grimier instrumentation. 

“He Loves Me Not” twinkles with a hop-a-long saloon piano coupled to achingly gorgeous jazz rhythms and overdriven guitars that vault through faster pacing as the overall tempos pick-up…  Stephanie street-preaches her way from front to back cover, giving a cheating companion a verbal lashing in sharp bursts of manic vocalizing.  Elements of chamber music, dub and theatrical instrumentation paint “Deep Beneath the Woods” as one of the album’s oddest but most unique pieces of work.  Vogt’s expressive crooning rides like thunder over haunting keyboard drones, electronica oscillations, violins and a strange Middle Eastern slant.  Elegant and exotic, this track could be the record’s finest import.  Jingling, dissonant guitars and folksy malice turn to cracking snare fills and doom-y crawls on the night-black oddities of “Another Light,” another masterpiece track.  60s twisted psyche-guitar swirls further the simultaneously comforting/dangerous atmosphere. 

Exploding with jarring, rhythmic stops/starts, nerve-frayed guitar solos and a venomous attitude punctuating the vocals, “Splinter” is a prime slab of noise rock that could have easily landed the band on the Amphetamine Reptile Records’ roster some fifteen years prior.  Stoned out riffing buried by the blues collides with melodic violins in the hard, heavy rock of “Unfortunate One,” which happens to feature Vogt’s strongest vocal performance on the record in my opinion (ringing of Morrison at his gruffest).  “A New Shred of Colors” is one of the few ballads to be found here (the other being closer “Come with Me”) and it’s a different trip overflowing with touching acoustic guitars, snappy snare work and walking bass lines that really tell a story.  A sky burning psychedelic riff assault returns the mood back to the vibe on “Unfortunate One,” thanks to the powerful performances heard on “Otherside.” 

Falling Forward is a near perfect record.  Intense performances, outstanding musicianship, songwriting variety and diesel fueled energy give Donoma a power many bands can only dream of.  Real rock and rollers will want to pick this one up without hesitation.