Love
Amen Dunes is the work of Brooklyn-based musician Damon McMahon. Though his previous albums have been largely solo performances, *Love* is produced by Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Dave Bryant and Efrim Menuck and features the additional support of some longtime friends—drummer Parker Kindred and Jordi Wheeler on guitar and piano—along with Colin Stetson on sax and occasional vocals from Iceage’s Elias Bender Ronnenfelt (on “Lonely Richard” and “Green Eyes”). The nearest comparison might be Bonnie \"Prince\" Billy, who often works a similarly obscure method to get the desired recording effect. “Everybody Is Crazy,” in particular, sounds like a gorgeous lost BPB track. “I Can’t Dig It” uses a deliberately lo-fi approach and sounds like a bootleg recording of a band playing in a cavernous hall. The remaining songs settle into a modest, mystical tone, with the piano-based “Sixteen” sounding as wired as Daniel Johnston and the acoustic “I Know Myself” offering a calmer view.
Damon McMahon’s work as Amen Dunes has been a process of expansion, and Love is an even grander step forward, both in the roster of musicians McMahon employs—including members of Iceage andGodspeed You! Black Emperor—and the more accessible, classic-leaning songs he’s written.
There is no question that this is a work of devotion, but as a document of raw emotion, it’s sadly lacking.
Some artists' music gets more intricate as the years pass, while others, like Amen Dunes' Damon McMahon, pare it down to its essence.