Listening to Amen Dunes track “Lilac In Hand” and you can hear Damon McMahon reaching another level of maturation in his songcraft. While this might mean that a composition like the one here has lost some of the inward gazing fog and drift that had marked many of the songs on 2011’s Through Donkey Jaw (Sacred Bones), or more particularly 2009’s DIA (Locust), by more fully embracing his role as singer-songwriter, McMahon has crafted an emotionally arresting music that is still full of mystery and intrigue. The video for “Lilac In Hand” was directed by Karl Lemieux, and using grey-toned, expressionistic visuals, it follows it’s solitary, peripatetic subject thru snowy city streets, matching perfectly this track’s melancholy hues. Amen Dunes upcoming LP Love was recorded in Montreal with Dave Bryant and Efrim Menuck of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and it is due out May 13th on Sacred Bones. Look for the band to play select live dates in the US and Europe thru the spring and summer of 2014. You can check out the dates below.
Amen Dunes Live 2014:
Mar 31, 2014: Cleveland, OH, Beachland Ballroom (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
Apr 1, 2014: Oberlin, OH, Dionysus Club (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
Apr 2, 2014: Chicago, IL, Empty Bottle (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
Apr 3, 2014: Detroit, MI, Magic Stick (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
Apr 4, 2014: Wakefield, QC, Blacksheep (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
Apr 5, 2014: Sherbrooke, QC, Boquebiere (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
Apr 6, 2014: Montreal, QC, Societe des Arts Technologiques (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
Apr 7, 2014: Cambridge, MA, Middle East Downstairs (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
Apr 9, 2014: New York, NY, Webster Hall (w/ Mac DeMarco, Juan Wauters)
May 13, 2014: Philadelphia, PA, Boot & Saddle
May 14, 2014: Washington, DC, Sixth & I Synagogue
May 15, 2014: Brooklyn, NY, Baby’s All Right (w/ Hubble)
May 19, 2014: Brighton, UK, The Old Market (w/ Mac DeMarco)
May 21, 2014: Manchester, UK, Sound Control (w/ Mac DeMarco)
May 22, 2014: London, UK, Koko (w/ Mac DeMarco)
May 23, 2014: Amsterdam, NL, Dokzaal
May 24, 2014: Paris, FR, Espace B
May 28, 2014: Berlin, DE, Westgermany
May 29, 2014: Antwerp, BE, Trix
May 30, 2014: Brussels, BE, Salle Rogier
Jun 3, 2014: London, UK, Electric Ballroom (w/ Wooden Shjips)
Jul 31, 2014: Katowice, PL, OFF Festival
Aug 8, 2014: Gothenburg, SE, Way Out West Festival
Aug 15, 2014: London, UK, Jabberwocky Festival
Sep 27, 2014: Liverpool, UK, Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia
