Donoma - Falling Forward

Donoma

​Falling Forward
self-released; 2017

​3.7 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Tim, Michelle, Stephanie, Isreal and Nick are Donoma. The band recently released their sophomore effort entitled Falling Forward. I give the band props for attempting varying different styles but in doing so the band doesn’t establish much of a foundation or signature sound. Some of the individual songs were fantastic but this isn’t a cohesive album.

​The star of the show is Stephanie. She is an exuberant lead singer who is dynamic and can tackle the varying styles with relative ease. The band is nothing to scoff at either. I was very impressed by the technical and creative abilities. They open with “Sick” which is one of the more original sounding songs and a highlight. I really enjoyed the kinetic forward moving energy and Stephanie just slays the lead vocals. Great song and one I’m sure kicks ass live. 

Right away the band's vision get a bit blurry. “Jack in the Box” is a much more punk inspired song veering towards bands like Fugazi and Pretty Girls Make Graves. The hyperbolic vocals work very well here. Up next is “Memory” which sheds the punk vibe entirely and fits into a pop/alternative vibe. On “A Change is Gonna Come” Stephanie seems to be inspired by Janis Joplin while “Deep Beneath the Woods” has a largely electronic feel and none of the levity of some of the previous songs. 

The band continues to impress through different genres like heavy rock and even closes with an emotionally heavy ballad. 

This is such a talented band that needs direction and should consider working with an experienced producer to help find a signature sound which I consider an essential ingredient for finding a large audience.

These stylistic shifts often work much better jumping from album to album as opposed to song to song. Take an artist like Beck who showed off sparse lo-fi acoustic material on One Foot in the Grave and showed us futuristic funk on Midnite Vultures. It worked because the songs on the album felt connected creating a sense of what the artist was trying to accomplish.

Sure you can brush off what I’m saying and say the band doesn’t want to pigeonhole themselves but you also can't briefly verbalize what the band sounds like besides they attempt many different things. I will surely revisit this album to hear individual songs but I it’s not an album that works as well listening from beginning to end. On that note take some time to listen to some of their exceptional talent. I’m willing to bet there are at least a couple tunes you will find repeat worthy. Recommended.

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