On his third LP, Sydney’s disco-funk king takes six guest vocalists back to a time before the invasion of smart phones and Facebook. Working with an extended cast of guests, the record could potentially have wound up feeling disjointed, but Donny’s disco beam streamlines all the action.
Some tracks basically sound like Donny Benet featuring a different voice (namely, those featuring Spod and Geoffrey O’Connor), others bear striking resemblance to the featured guest’s regular gig (the Isabella Manfredi-helmed Endless would fit nicely on The Preatures’ new record), and there’re a few instances where the two personalities beget a unique chemical compound (namely, the tracks with Jack Ladder and Kirin J. Callinan).
While the disco extroversion never subsides, it’s hard to picture Benet pulling off the sci-fi dance number, Sex Tourist on his own. Sung in Benet’s breezy register, the account of failing to find sex overseas could feel like light amusement. With Ladder’s earnest baritone out front, however, lines such as, “I gave you all my money, all I got was Thai Pad Prik,” gather disturbing pathos.
Like sneaking a sip from an unattended cosmopolitan, Weekend at Donny’s is a delicious guilty pleasure, which sufficiently obscures your worries, for the time being at least.
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Best Track: The Edge
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: APEROL SPRITZ, LYNCHBURG LEMONADE, ESPRESSO MARTINI
In A Word: Style
