Amen Dunes, the project of Damon McMahon, released Death Jokes after a six-year hiatus, with significant rediscovery taking place during that time. McMahon decided to take his music in a different direction, which is surprising because Freedom (2018) was critically acclaimed and could have been the breakthrough needed for his project to gain notoriety. The album, released by Sub Pop Records, is described as “an essay on the way America’s culture of violence, dominance, and destructive individualism has crescendoed and imploded in recent years”. Amen Dunes seems less concerned with strengthening his listener base than making a statement. In other words, those looking for another Freedom will not find it here.
In addition to McMahon’s concerns with the cultural climate, his personal life directly impacted the creation of Death Jokes. McMahon became tired of his particular brand of music and approached this album like a beginner by learning the piano and throwing himself into the electronic music that was such an influence in his youth. In addition, his writing process had become unorthodox, which led to failed collaborations. Compound that with his physical health deteriorating in 2020 with COVID and lingering respiratory issues, the process of making the record became arduous and primarily defined by change. The result is that Death Jokes contains moments of brilliance that are occasionally offset by Amen Dunes’ unwieldy integration of electronics, which at best serves as a nice complement to his sound and, at worst, can be distracting if not confusing.
While Death Jokes is primarily concerned with important themes, Amen Dunes has always created deeper meaning by making a connection with the listener. There is something confessional in his songwriting, even if the lyrics are not overtly emotive. The stream of conscious vignettes in “Purple Land” paints a picture: “I could go West / I could blow it off / Rent a house there.” The song’s couplets are filled with tension (“We used to hang out / Why don’t we now?” and “She likes her man / But he’s not here”) despite being nothing more than simple observations. “Boys” is another standout built upon percussive bass and breezy guitar chords. The layered vocals make the song sound more splendid than the parts suggest. Even the electronic effects help to enhance rather than detract from the end product.
By deciding to incorporate electronic music into his songcraft, Amen Dunes was presented with a spectrum of possibilities. The challenge is that he seems to want to try many of them out. Consider a band like Twilight Singers or even an album like Bright Eyes‘ Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (2005), and there is a continuity of sound. Amen Dunes achieves a similar integration of his music with newly added drum machines on “Rugby Child” and “Exodus”.
Even the stand-alone instrumental like “Joyrider” is an effective interlude that creates tension between the tracks on either side. However, the electronic and rave sounds that influenced McMahon growing up become self-referential and not part of the larger work. “Predator” is as close as Death Jokes comes to incorporating techno, mimicking sounds from a group like Basic Channel, whereas “Solo Tape” provides ambient themes with dark and industrial sounds like David Bowie/Brian Eno in Berlin meets Burial. There may be a deeper meaning buried within, but it could just be McMahon wanting to show off what he had just learned.
Where digital production can be additive, the inclusion of so many random cultural artifacts is irritating, which is something Amen Dunes openly acknowledged. Opener “Death Jokes” and closer “Poor Cops” come across as randomly spliced-together clips, as opposed to a meaningful collage. Neither track approaches the proficiency the Avalanches have achieved in their craft, and that is likely due to the haphazard content, ranging from protests to a powerlifter and Nadia Boulanger to Lenny Bruce.
Other nettlesome overdubs appear in songs. For instance, “Ian”, with its ominous guitar line and brighter moments, would stand alone as a solid track without the film scene and laugh track overtop. No doubt, samples can be employed effectively in rock music. Consider the Madchester and indie-rave scenes of the 1990’s or alternative rock bands like 311, Beck, Incubus, and Sublime. “Loaded” by Primal Scream would have been a shell of a song if not for the music samples, and it would not have the same charged energy without Peter Fonda’s iconic lines from The Wild Angels (1966). Each creative choice should fit the mood and have some relevance, which is not always the case in Death Jokes.
On the more true-to-form tracks, Amen Dunes employs meandering song structures, which he has learned to arrange masterfully. The songs have a vibe and are built around a central theme, often with lyrical repetition. His songs have a chorus like T.S. Eliot’s poems have a refrain, as is the case with the nine-minute opus “Round the World”, which took three years to write. The song’s scope, built around multiple circuital parts and adorned with strings, is not unlike what we have come to expect from Spiritualized. McMahon’s quavering vocals make the song all the more affective, which is something listeners have come to appreciate over the years. “I Don’t Mind” is not as imposing, but it contains similar moments of catharsis with tribal beats, sparing guitar riffs, and overlapping vocals. These are moments when one can appreciate the evolution of Amen Dunes’ sound.
On Death Jokes, Amen Dunes attempts to tackle more significant societal issues, which may have been meaningful for him but will likely draw a dividing line amongst fans. The origin of some of his songs presaged the pandemic, but the album is more about the lingering effects it has had on us as individuals and as a society. Putting aside those bigger questions, Death Jokes works in places where Amen Dunes makes an intimate connection with his audience, something he has done throughout his career.
The foray into electronic sounds often distracts from what makes his music so satisfying, which is clearly still there. There is a universality to Amen Dunes’ music, but it also reflects the artist’s authentic experience in the world. In that way, McMahon has stayed true to his vision and rediscovered newfound meaning in his art.