Eyes Full [CD], Zoh Amba, CD

In music, Zoh Amba is always striving for greater proximity to the divine. On Eyes Full, their debut singer-songwriter release and first with Matador, they've never come closer. Having already become one of the most exciting saxophonists to emerge from NYC's avant-garde scene, Amba is now letting their heart guide them back to their first instrument, the guitar, and to their hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee. The music is distinctly, instinctively tied to that place: muddy, loose blues with sweet burnishes of Appalachian folk. It feels like a pure transmission of their soul.Every song on Eyes Full circles the idea of seeing and being seen. The record looks closely at the lives of working-class folk in small towns who bust their asses off while trying to find any salvation they can. "I hope these songs touch people's hearts," Amba says. "They're about people who really need to be seen and heard."Eyes Full is a lesson in how to look and to stay open to the universe, and to all the hearts that inhabit it. Through Amba's gaze, the album restores spirit and dignity to those who are often overlooked or dispossessed. Across Eyes Full, Amba sings for people who rarely see themselves reflected back with tenderness. The music carries an ache for communities pushed to the margins, for those growing numb or losing touch with their innermost sense of self. These songs insist on sustained attention: on looking closely, meeting another person's gaze, and refusing to look away.