***Recorded while DAMON MCMAHON was living as an expatriate in China, AMEN DUNES presents seven new stunning works of sunlit haziness. During the two years he lived abroad, he lived most of the time in an apartment on the north end of Beijing. He tracked these songs one summer in that apartment. With the exception of “Diane” and “Murder Dull Mind,” all of these songs were recorded in one take and are completely improvisational; on repeated listens though, there is a pop-ness to these songs amidst the improvisation. The title track in particular, a melodic mantra-like work could certainly function on its own as a single. Although the songs have a bit less pre-written structure than Amen Dunes’ previous work on the Locust label, they are still every bit as miraculous. The geographical influence on his work central to both writing and recording conditions is evident here as these songs are way more open, and generally more free than his debut Dia (recorded in 2006 in a Catskills cabin) was. A bit less psych freak out and a bit more dark folk vibe throughout.