Arriving to the party a tad late, I’ve since become a member of the church of Amen Dunes. Damon McMahon’s latest seems a little less improv than his debut D.I.A., and a tad more “poppy” and structured. “Baba Yaga” starts off the album with some beautiful meander and almost unintelligible lyrics (English, yeah, but the phrasing is odd). But whenever he sings the refrain, “You know that I, I lie,” each time more soaring than the last, the goosebumps start to pop up. Same with “Swim Up Behind Me,” the lyrics are always in English but are treated as another instrument, twisted and tangled and sounding unconventional. “Good Bad Dreams” sounds like a late ’60s Stones-on-mescaline trip, Satanic Majesties-style and “Not A Slave” sounds a little Eastern, like something you’d hear coming from the closed tent of a night-time bazaar. The whole listen is completely ethereal and a tad spooky, demanding repeated listens to peel back its many layers. Oh yeah, if you buy the CD version of Donkey Jaw, you get two exclusive bonus tracks, “Gem Head,” a shimmering jungle-beat jangly ’60s trip-out and the 10+ minute freakout “Tomorrow Never Knows” that sounds like Nine Inch Nails meets 23 Skidoo. Essential, if ya know what’s good for ya! (Sacred Bones, sacredbonesrecords.com) Patrick Michalishyn