The Donkeys are a Californian band through and through. There's no escaping it. A four-piece from San Diego, they've spent the past few years developing a close relationship to distinctly homegrown source materials, bridging the gap between the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, and the Grateful Dead. But here, on Born With Stripes, they also showcase their admiration for a band that's more commonly associated with indie rock nation than its founding members' home state: Pavement. In fact, Pavement's influence provides the Donkeys with an overlooked portal through which to interpret all that classic rock, with Malkmus and Spiral Stairs' post-Slanted and Enchanted guitar tones a fine start. Still, while there's little separating the moves of the Donkeys' "Ceiling Tan" from Pavement's "Range Life", what glues it all together has less to do with reference points and more to do with this band's natural, almost stereotypical sense of ease. To that end, Born With Stripes is an unerringly easy listen.
They do it with earnest grooves. While the melodic lines of opener "Don't Know Who We Are" slither and tip-toe around drummer/vocalist Sam Sprague's kickdrum, he lets loose with an array of spaced-out-but-soulful "give it to me now"s, "baby"s, and corny lines Malkmus would have delivered only in jest. While the Donkeys can certainly be pegged for striking a number of poses, their delivery is refreshingly devoid of pretense. Though they'd likely see a frighteningly short life span in a place like Brooklyn, this music remains endearing for reasons that have little to do with their record collections. Intangibles.
For one, they can play. Whether the Donkeys delve into full-fledged fusion as they do in both instrumental ragas to be found here, or straight up Eagles homage in "Bullfrog Blues", they sound like pros. But there's always more there. The exit solo on "Valerie" is textbook in form, but soaked with soul. The psychedelic sway of "New Blue Stockings" is a simple study of the 60s, recorded with Catalina-like warmth. So while none of the pastiche found here is groundbreaking, it's convincing. A couple of years ago, a producer for "Lost" heard the Donkeys and insisted they be cast as Geronimo Jackson, a fictional band of San Francisco-based, late-70s contemporaries of the Grateful Dead. One of their songs, "Exclesior Lady", was re-recorded as "Dharma Lady" just for the show, a cut that was said to have been featured on Geronimo Jackson's period-appropriate LP, Magna Carta. One listen to Born With Stripes and you might argue the Donkeys fit the part. You'd be right for a few reasons.
