After making a splash in more avant-garde worlds, Zoh Amba is now tackling heartfelt folk. The music on Amba's debut for Matador Records reveals the hold of Amba's original home of Tennessee on the art of the musician. The songs on Eyes Full are simple, yet compelling.
The yearning of "Another Time" is punctuated by the guitars of Kevin Hyland, while the simply precise drumming of Jim White (The Dirty Three, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) on this one and the energetic "Dead End Street" is the pulse of these tracks. Still, it is Zoh Amba's voice and emotive phrasing which makes each of these selections work. Recorded without overdubs, there's something vital and alive in Eyes Full that is hard to ignore. The quiet-loud--quiet-dynamic of "Thousand Years" pulls this folk-rooted material closer to that of Nirvana, frankly, but it works spectacularly well. The title cut has a ferocious appeal to it, like a Shaggs song where the folks involved are more adept at conveying an idea musically, while the sax squalls of "Child You'll See" tether this stuff to earlier efforts by Zoh Amba in different genres.
Eyes Full is an affecting record, one where something deceptively simple yields powerful results. The emotive delivery of Zoh Amba anchors the basic folk-tinged and blues-inspired rock of the album. The pieces here are modest in construction, but they really stir the soul. On paper this might sound like a musician venturing too far outside their usual lane, but hearing Eyes Full and I'm all for Zoh Amba making more music just like this. Highly recommended.
Eyes Full by Zoh Amba is out this week on Matador Records.
[Photo: Eleonore Hendricks]