Amen Dunes’ Love took close to a year and a half, 16 musicians, and five different studios to complete. It was a song cycle that required broad experimentation before it was clear what was essential underneath the surface. In that process, much of the sound that might have made it onto the album was lost. There was just too much to say for one record.
One description that seemed to work for Love was that it was an album of devotional music, and even more specifically, a type of devotional music McMahon called cowboy worship. Cowboy worship as a concept certainly did not begin with Love, but instead Love began with cowboy worship, was born from it, and in turn added a new link to the chain.