Amen Dunes (aka the project of New York-based Damon McMahon)’s forthcoming release Freedom, arrives March 30th on Sacred Bones. “On the surface, Freedom is a reflection on growing up, childhood friends who ended up in prison or worse, male identity, McMahon’s father, and his mother, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the beginning of recording. The characters that populate the musical world of the album are a colorful mix of reality and fantasy. Each character portrait is a representation of McMahon, of masculinity, and of his past. Yet, ultimately, these 11 songs are a relinquishing of all of them through exposition”.

After sharing singles “Miki Dora” and “Blue Rose,” Amen Dunes now presents the album’s final pre-release song, “Believe.” If one song could sum up all the reflection and questioning of Freedom, it would be “Believe.” With McMahon’s mother’s illness and mortality functioning as a spiritual pivot point, “Believe” is a song of forgiveness and of reckoning. Where McMahon once judged his mother’s disregard for life, he has come to admire it as she approaches death. She serves as guru in “Believe,” a specter over the song:

“Well, seems to me baby, you don’t want to stay
That’s O.K. if that’s true
Life goes on, and this is just a song
But still I do it for you

I can feel it in the air tonight
Summer’s almost done
They said you lived out on the wrong side
You said that’s half the fun”

And where much of the album has struggled with the concept of self, “Believe” is an almost joyful acceptance of its passing, shaped in the wake of his mother’s illness.

“I believe, can’t deny it
Seen heaven, don’t get down
When I was a kid I was afraid to die
But I growed up now

If I’m caught in the hour of dark
Won’t laugh, won’t make a sound
I won’t scream, and I won’t get excited
I know God’s underground”

As the song fades, it concludes with a dance groove and a simple mantra:

“When things go black, I got you”

Amen Dunes will play a record release show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn the Saturday following the album’s release. He’ll then support Fleet Foxes on the road all over North America and headline shows throughout Europe. All dates are below.

Amen Dunes Tour Dates:

Sat. March 31 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Tue. April 10 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre *
Wed. April 11 – Sacramento, CA @Crest Theatre *
Thu. April 12 – San Pedro, CA @ Warner Grand *
Sat. April 14 – Marfa, TX @ Marfa Myths
Sun. April 15 – San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts By The Bay *
Tue. April 17 – Pomona, CA @ Fox Pomona *
Wed. April 18 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Madonna Expo Center *
Fri. April 20 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre *
Mon. April 23 – Berlin, DE @ Privatclub
Tue. April 24 – Hamburg, DE @ Goldener Salon
Wed. April 25 – Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil
Fri. April 27 – Brussels, BE @ Grand Salon Boutique
Sat. April 28 – Paris, FR @ Badaboum
Mon. April 30 – Brighton, UK @ Prince Albert
Tue. May 1 – Leeds, UK @ Headroom House
Wed. May 2 – London, UK @ Omeara
Mon. May 7 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center *
Tue. May 8 – San Antonio, TX @ The Tobin Center for The Performing Arts *
Thu. May 10 – El Paso, TX @ Abraham Chavez Theatre *
Sat. May 12 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater *
Mon. May 14 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom *
Tue. May 15 – St Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House *
Thu. May 17 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Benedum Center for The Performing Arts *
Fri. May 18 – Washington, DC @ Anthem *
Sat. May 19 – Columbus, OH @ Express Live *
Mon. May 21 – Nashville, TN @ The Ryman *
Tue. May 22 – Nashville, TN @ The Ryman *
Wed. May 23 – Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater *
Thu. May 24 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Murat Theatre *
Sat. May 26 – South Burlington, VT – The Green at Shelburne Museum *
Thu. June 7 – Sat. June 9 – Porto, PT @ Primavera
Thu. June 14 – Sun. June 17 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Festival
Thu. Aug. 30 – Sep. 2 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
Thu. Sept. 6 – Sun. Sept. 9 – Portmeirion, UK @ Festival No. 6

* w/ Fleet Foxes