An abrupt change in sound defines Zoh Amba's latest album, 'Eyes Full,' a raw and rugged country rock record that also reveals real tenderness. Better known as a formidable free jazz saxophonist, Amba delivers thrashing songs about their Tennessee childhood home, sharing a similar genre-pushing intensity.
Opening Track Sets the Tone
On the opening track 'OCD,' Amba stops a twinkling, rootsy guitar melody and starts over, searching for the right way to tell the story of a boy diagnosed with 'dreamin’ all the time.' Amba lands on a queasy combination of empathy and conspiracy, with lyrics like 'said that mind needs fixin’ / gunna end up like everybody,' churned up by thrashing, violent strumming that causes blisters and wrecked strings.
Cryptic Postcards from Tennessee
These cryptic postcards from Amba’s home town of Kingsport, Tennessee describe childhood memories with fresh eyes. They left at 17 and returned only recently, now in their mid-20s. Blending gruff reality with poetic licence, 'Eyes Full' is a rugged, experimental country rock record that feels deeply lived in, despite representing an abrupt change in sound from their previous work as a prodigious free jazz saxophonist.
Shared Bravery in Sound
But that previous style and the new one share a similar bravery. Amba pushes their vocals like they push their sax – far past breaking point, fuelled by raw emotion. On 'Southern Soil,' a tough sibling to the indie folk of Bright Eyes and Big Thief, Amba pleads with their family to stop keeping secrets, their voice cracking, whinnying, and squeaking.
Tenderness Amidst Roughness
'Eyes Full' couples a rough-and-tumble sound with real tenderness. 'Weed Eating' careens through the mindset of a person who has given up, the song somehow finding feral humour amid despair. Meanwhile, the quiet, incantatory 'Blueberry Thorn' discovers a bloodied spirituality, its dusty fiddle as piercing as the thorns slicing its protagonist’s palms. It doesn’t matter if this guitar record might just be a detour for Amba: in the here-and-now, it’s a wild, beautiful thing.
