ALEX AMEN announces debut album 'Sun of Amen' for 12th June via ATO Records | Watch the video for new single 'Diamonds'

Photo credit: Jackie Domi

ALEX AMEN announces debut album

Sun of Amen

Out June 12th Via ATO Records

Watch the video for new single 'Diamonds' Below

Alex Amen—the 26-year-old indie folk-country singer-songwriter from Texas—announces his debut album, Sun of Amen, out June 12th via ATO Records and releases the new single/video, “Diamonds.” An artist untethered from time or place, Alex Amen crafts music that feels eternally familiar, yet strikingly new - shaped by a wandering spirit always in motion. Newly signed to ATO Records, Amen’s full-length debut is a body of work that opens a space for sustained and quiet wonder, offering up songs touched with both ease and beauty.

At 18, Amen moved from Texas to California to study filmmaking. After one semester he dropped out and moved onto the Dittman Family Commune, a commune with historic ties to the countercultural movements of the mid-60’s. It was here that he formed his first band in 2017 which broke up shortly after, resulting in Amen’s move from Southern California to the island of Vashon in Washington’s Puget Sound. The next three years he spent in relative isolation, taking up various interests in mycology, mountaineering, poetry, and wooden boat building. As years passed, Amen felt the increasing need to return to California to pursue music. In January of 2023 he began self-producing his first EP The Zorthian Tapes (2025) in a self-built studio at the historic Zorthian Ranch in Altadena, California. Amen now lives in Los Angeles—releasing music among the growing Folk/Americana/Country scene in the city and performing his music across North America and beyond.

Produced by Amen and engineered by Jonny Bell (Cage the Elephant, Chicano Batman), Sun of Amen matches its old-soul warmth with an astonishing clarity—the natural byproduct of his reverence for classic records and ardent refusal to chase nostalgia. “With this album we were meticulous about creating something high-quality while recording in a more traditional way, which has its own challenges—older gear is temperamental, so sometimes we’d have to break for three hours because the tape machine caught on fire,” Amen comments.

Partly recorded at the legendary Valentine Recording Studios in L.A., Sun of Amen unfolds with a rich sonic depth achieved with the help of an expansive lineup of musicians, including several of Amen’s longtime bandmates as well as in-demand talents like Tommy de Bourbon (a multi-instrumentalist whose recent endeavors include playing pedal steel in Lana Del Rey’s touring band). Over the course of its 11 songs, the album’s lush and unhurried sound serves as a potent backdrop to Amen’s storytelling, adding another layer to his sharply observed conjuring of atmosphere and landscape. This is exemplified by the heavy-hearted sprawl of today’s single, “Diamonds,” a wistful reflection on life and love gained and lost during his time in California. The accompanying video features footage of Alex rock climbing, his time in Vashon where he took up wooden boat building and his excursion sailing from Washington to Canada last summer.

As he moves into a new chapter of his journey, music and the natural world remain parallel forces in Amen’s life, providing an endless source of fortifying joy. “I think it’s important for everyone to have a physical connection with nature, partly because it creates more of a desire to make sure we’re not destroying the planet, but it’s also good for humans on every basic level to move and be outside,” he says. “It’s the same thing with music—I think I’ve been very blessed in the sense that music has always been something I’ve done because I love it; it’s never felt forced to me. I really just love the way it feels to play music, and I’ve found the more you chase it and live with an open heart, the more life brings you songs.”

In the past year, Amen has toured with Folk Bitch Trio, performed at festivals such as Pitchfork London & Paris, Newport Folk, Iceland Airwaves, Austin City Limits, Outside Lands, and also participated in the Americana Music Association’s annual GRAMMY Eve concert at the Troubadour to honour Neil Young. Fresh off performing at Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion during this year’s SXSW, Amen will wrap up his month-long New York City residency at Night Club 101 next Tuesday, April 14. He’ll also perform at several festivals in the coming months including WXPN’s NON-COMMvention, Analog Reunion, Green River and Winnipeg Folk.

Pre-Order Sun of Amen

Sun of Amen Tracklist:

1. Diamonds

2. Cabin By The Sea

3. Please Don’t Tell Me You Love Me

4. Peaches

5. Her Spirit Wanders

6. Memories of You

7. California Blues

8. Changes

9. April

10. Lonely People