Amen Dunes at Koko

Damon McMahon, aka Amen Dunes, has been going for almost 20 years now, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many that know the name here in the UK, which is surprising given he’s such a talented artist. With his distinctive soulful tone, he has gained a healthy following here in London nonetheless, and Camden’s Koko is packed with swarming anticipation on this rather muggy Tuesday night.

The singer’s new record, Death Jokes, is more experimental than 2018’s critically acclaimed Freedom, with a mixture of hip hop, heavy dance beats and speaking samples. Tonight opens with the interlude of Poor Cops, which uses a scene from influential comedian and satirist Lenny Bruce, during which the band have yet to appear on stage. It’s a bit of an odd start, as the singer spends the whole of the third song What I Want singing to his band rather than the crowd, immediately making the show feel disconnected. Was this how the gig was going to be until the end?

Thankfully, things picked up with the sublime Blue Rose, which immediately lifts the atmosphere. Perhaps McMahon just needed to ease into things a bit, but whatever it was, it didn’t matter anymore.

Among his new songs, there were enough hits from his back catalogue to keep things varied, including 2014’s Lonely Richard, which stood out as being particularly poignant. The set would flit between sultry indie pop and the harsh but enjoyable beat interludes from his latest album, which sounds odd, but somehow it worked well.

Towards the end, Dunes plays a fantastic cover of Tim Buckley’s melancholic triumph Song to the Siren. Although it was originally written in 1967 by Buckley, many will know the song as being performed by This Mortal Coil, released in 1983. The track requires a powerfully emotive voice to carry it off, and McMahon firmly delivers this, making his version unique enough while still being instantly recognisable.

After an encore with the wonderful Believe, it’s time to say goodbye to the New York artist. He has hinted on his Instagram that this may have been the last time the band plays in the UK for a while, which would be a shame. Let’s hope the next occasion is sooner than expected.

Hannah Broughton
Photos: Dan Donovan

For further information and future events visit Amen Dunes’s website here.

Watch the video for the single here: