Zoh Amba is an inseparable fixture of New York’s vibrant young free-jazz scene, developing a furious and intense saxophone voice that flows directly from the work of figures like Albert Ayler or Charlie Parker. Yet, on their Matador Records debut, the driving force is alternative country rock and guitar.
‘Eyes Full’ doesn’t sound like anything polished in a conservatory. It’s clear that Amba’s second album, which bears little resemblance to the instrumental ‘Sun’ from 2025, has a strong marketing hook thanks to the stylistic U-turn it represents, but it isn’t the work of an outsider to the singer-songwriter world. The Dylan influence is perhaps a touch too obvious on tracks like ‘Southern Soil’ or ‘Weed Eating’, were it not for the ferocious bursts of distortion that accompany this track.
Even so, Zoh’s raw performance remains breathtaking at every moment, weaving, bending, and doubling back within each phrase. This is a constant across every song and one of the project’s greatest draws. Beyond the timbral resemblance to Adrianne Lenker, Amba’s voice would be the true stand-in for her sax, being unpredictable, melodic, and piercing, all at once. If only the lyrics matched the delivery…
From Dylan, Amba borrows his phrasing and vocal freedom, but not his lyrical brilliance. Most songs revolve around characters scarred by life, sprinkled with small autobiographical touches about their Tennessee childhood, and musings on religion and nature. There’s the rocker ‘Odd Jobs’, about a heroin addict who longs to see “the eyes of God,” and the melodic gem of ‘Another Time’, also about a colleague who needs Jesus in their life. It doesn’t happen in the early tracks due to its placement on the album, but later tracks suffer from repetitive, forgettable lyrics. Not even Oasis dared to include so many instances of the word “sunshine” on a single LP.
‘OCD’ also follows this line, but it succeeds in establishing the album’s mood, which is defined above all by its naturalness. How many albums sound manufactured today? ‘Eyes Full’, without any additional overdubbing, sounds simply real. We’re talking about someone emerging from the world of pure experimentation, and with no tricks, these moments end up being the most impressive on the LP: the noisy passage in the middle of ‘Dead End Street’, the subtle psychedelia of ‘Thousand Years’, and all those moments where the music yields to freer rock, as in ‘Blueberry Thorn’ or the chaotic ending of ‘PG Tips’, are plenty reason to give this record a chance.
The first half of ‘Eyes Full’ is like one of those gifts you never expected and that can genuinely surprise you. The second half, however, is not on the same level. Nevertheless, it includes the song ‘Child You’ll See’. In this, Zoh Amba sings to childlike innocence, with lines as meaningful as “you are what you dream” or “you can love and still have sad eyes.” The audio of Zoh playing the sax at the end of the track? The cherry on top.
