What a thrill it is when music stops you in your tracks. When it just goes 'put down what you're doing and pay attention'. I can't remember how I first came across the music of Damon McMahon aka. Amen Dunes, where I was or what I was doing, but I do remember the reaction I had: A pleasant, gentle guitar-based intro slid into the background of whatever I was concentrating on, but when he started singing I became aware of how high my eyebrows were. They just stuck at that elevated position. When I caught myself it would kind of turn into a self-questioning frown, like 'what am I actually hearing?', but then he would sing another line and the frown would disappear and I would go back to that disbelieving surprised look. I still don't know which song this was I first heard, it could have been just about any one of them. Now I've been listening to Freedom for almost a year, and it's only grown on me.
That voice is amazing. He does that intense ultra-vibrato thing that I only know from a handful of other singers, such as Anohni, or my friend Jenny. And it's probably not coincidental that those two had this same effect on me. Please, if you know of any singers in this cross-section of voices that you get if you combine Amen Dunes, Anohni and Jenny Marlene Nettum, let me know.
With Amen Dunes' Freedom, I came for the voice but I stayed for the songs. McMahon isn't just an incredible singer, he also writes hella good songs. What's more, Freedom sounds tremendously beautiful. It's guitar based, but with an endless variety of guitar tones, some tasteful piano and harmonica and, and plenty of atmospherics and loose song structures sending the thoughts in the direction of The War on Drugs. The production is perfect, it's timeless and lovely, and it captures all the sentiments that the songs do and amplifying them. It's both soothing and cathartic. (I'm not sure that those are opposites.) And I'm not sure what the songs are supposed to be about a lot of the time, but I have a pretty strong feeling that writing (and performing) them is both soothing and cathartic for Mr. McMahon. Going through the lyrics, the album reads as a life-reckoning. From his skipping school and growing up with a disapproving father, to dealing with Jewish heritage, and a mother who is diagnosed with cancer, McMahon does a lot of thinking, some figuring out, via more than a bit of pain, as he repeatedly sings.
OK, let's just go straight to the highlights. And they're all vocal performances. He gets so intense. He uses his voice to build up even the gentlest melody as if it was going through countless modulations, even the quietest song as if there was a symphony orchestra behind him. "Blue rose" is quite astounding all the way through, but like the phrase from 1:30 is pretty unique. How does he do those "now"s? "Skipping school"'s meandering second half sounds free-styled, but like at 3:25, when he goes from a deep croon on "yeah I've been goOoOoOoOod" to howling "See them go! Get out and go!", that's not random. Neither are the "I-I-I-I" stutters a few phrases later. It's all painstakingly, lovingly crafted. Another through and through stunner is "Miki Dora". About a famous surfer whose career and fame fell after he was convicted for financial fraud, McMahon's ruthless take on men's proud psyche is one of my favorites on the album. Again the melody starts deep, but when he reaches for those high notes from 1:50, singing "Sipping on my beer", I think that fragile vibrato is the least masculine way I've ever heard the word "beer" sung. And then there's "Believe", a six-minute piece of timeless classic rock where I think the instrumental is almost as impressive as the vocals.
Best tracks: "Blue rose", "Believe", "Miki Dora", "Freedom"
That voice is amazing. He does that intense ultra-vibrato thing that I only know from a handful of other singers, such as Anohni, or my friend Jenny. And it's probably not coincidental that those two had this same effect on me. Please, if you know of any singers in this cross-section of voices that you get if you combine Amen Dunes, Anohni and Jenny Marlene Nettum, let me know.
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| Not much to say about this cover. The little stuff up on top is part of it. The most important is the portrait, though. The long curls are gone |
With Amen Dunes' Freedom, I came for the voice but I stayed for the songs. McMahon isn't just an incredible singer, he also writes hella good songs. What's more, Freedom sounds tremendously beautiful. It's guitar based, but with an endless variety of guitar tones, some tasteful piano and harmonica and, and plenty of atmospherics and loose song structures sending the thoughts in the direction of The War on Drugs. The production is perfect, it's timeless and lovely, and it captures all the sentiments that the songs do and amplifying them. It's both soothing and cathartic. (I'm not sure that those are opposites.) And I'm not sure what the songs are supposed to be about a lot of the time, but I have a pretty strong feeling that writing (and performing) them is both soothing and cathartic for Mr. McMahon. Going through the lyrics, the album reads as a life-reckoning. From his skipping school and growing up with a disapproving father, to dealing with Jewish heritage, and a mother who is diagnosed with cancer, McMahon does a lot of thinking, some figuring out, via more than a bit of pain, as he repeatedly sings.
OK, let's just go straight to the highlights. And they're all vocal performances. He gets so intense. He uses his voice to build up even the gentlest melody as if it was going through countless modulations, even the quietest song as if there was a symphony orchestra behind him. "Blue rose" is quite astounding all the way through, but like the phrase from 1:30 is pretty unique. How does he do those "now"s? "Skipping school"'s meandering second half sounds free-styled, but like at 3:25, when he goes from a deep croon on "yeah I've been goOoOoOoOod" to howling "See them go! Get out and go!", that's not random. Neither are the "I-I-I-I" stutters a few phrases later. It's all painstakingly, lovingly crafted. Another through and through stunner is "Miki Dora". About a famous surfer whose career and fame fell after he was convicted for financial fraud, McMahon's ruthless take on men's proud psyche is one of my favorites on the album. Again the melody starts deep, but when he reaches for those high notes from 1:50, singing "Sipping on my beer", I think that fragile vibrato is the least masculine way I've ever heard the word "beer" sung. And then there's "Believe", a six-minute piece of timeless classic rock where I think the instrumental is almost as impressive as the vocals.
There's been a lot of weird shit on this year's list. So if you've fallen off the wagon - I don't blame you. Hell, I would have fallen off this mess of a wagon. But if you did, jump back on it for this one, because I can basically guarantee that each and every one of you beautiful people are going to fall for this album. It's the In Rainbows of this list - so pretty, so solid, so good it's completely un-unlikable.
Best tracks: "Blue rose", "Believe", "Miki Dora", "Freedom"
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