“I hope these songs touch people’s hearts": Zoh Amba to make Matador debut with new album, Eyes Full

Recognised as an emerging saxophonist within NYC's avant-garde scene, Eyes Full sees Amba return to their first instrument, guitar, drawing directly from their upbringing in Kingsport, Tennessee. The album offers a looser, muddier sound that blends blues with Appalachian folk, with "Another Time" arriving as the first preview.

The songs on Eyes Full examine the lives of working-class people living in small towns. “I hope these songs touch people’s hearts,” Amba says. “They’re about people who really need to be seen and heard.” The LP album tracked live at Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, with Amba's best friend Kevin Hyland on electric guitar and Jim White, whom Amba met on the streets of New York years ago, on drums.

While Amba has found a sense of transcendence through saxophone and instrumental music without language, singing and returning to guitar has helped them confront darker childhood memories. "When you try to run from something it ends up catching up to you,” they explain. “And you have to deal with it.”

Eyes Full artwork

Eyes Full tracklist

“OCD”
“Another Time”
“Dead End Street”
“Thousand Years”
“Southern Soil”
“Eyes Full”
“Blueberry Thorn”
“Emahoy”
“Weed Eating”
“Odd Jobs”
“Child You’ll See”
“PG Tips”
“Smile With Your Eyes”