Zoh AMBA releases new single ‘Dead End Street’,
ZOH AMBA RELEASES NEW SINGLE
MATADOR DEBUT ALBUM EYES FULL OUT FRIDAY
UK, EU & NORTH AMERICA TOUR DATES
“The free jazz saxophonist turns equally remarkable songwriter for a record that twists their Appalachian roots with openhearted, choppy rock” – The Guardian
“Spanning alt.blues, grunge, Appalachian folk and slacker country soul, all 13 tracks on Eyes Full have instant appeal” – Uncut (8/10)
“One of the best straight-up indie records of the year so far” – Loud & Quiet
“Their new sound is incredibly idiosyncratic – a little lost, fuelled by attitude, and with a bruised interior” – Rolling Stone
Credit: Eleonore Hendricks
On Friday, Zoh Amba will release Eyes Full, their essential full-length debut as a singer-songwriter and their first collaboration with Matador Records. Today, comes a video for the record’s raucous and feedback-singed third single, ‘Dead End Street’, directed by Amba and Liz Layton. Watch HERE.
Amba and their band will tour throughout the summer and autumn, including headline dates in the UK, Europe, and North America, as well as a run supporting Courtney Barnett. A complete itinerary is below.
Eyes Full is distinctly, instinctively tied to Zoh’s hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee and the rediscovery of their first instrument, the guitar. The album courses with a type of muddy, loose acoustic blues, punctuated with bursts of feedback-laden electric guitar and sweet burnishes of Appalachian folk. It’s a remarkable turn for an artist who has already become one of the most exciting saxophonists to emerge from NYC’s avant-garde scene.
In music, Amba is always striving for greater proximity to the divine. On Eyes Full, they’ve never come closer. Every song 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.”
The record was tracked live at Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, an hour from Amba’s hometown, with no overdubs. Their best friend Kevin Hyland plays electric guitar, while drummer Jim White, whom Amba met on the streets of New York years earlier and now calls the closest thing they’ve had to a family, plays drums. The three musicians rehearsed relentlessly, playing together all day, every day. White and Amba play interlocked, while Amba and Hyland weave around one another, Amba playing rhythm and Hyland playing lead; currents of life running alongside one another.
The music itself sounds moonshine-drunk, Amba’s voice snarling and fiery, their guitar slowing then gathering speed like a steam train edging off the tracks. They veer suddenly between abrasion and gentleness. One moment they’re all teeth, the next, they go soft and still. On ‘Emahoy,’ they play a drowsy and velveted guitar line while singing with unguarded tenderness about the sadness dancing in their soul.
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.
(hi-res)
EYES FULL TRACK LIST
1. OCD
2. Another Time
4. Thousand Years
5. Southern Soil
6. Eyes Full
7. Blueberry Thorn
8. Emahoy
9. Weed Eating
10. Odd Jobs
11. Child You’ll See
12. PG Tips
13. Smile With Your Eyes
ZOH AMBA TOUR DATES
Thu June 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Record Grouch (In-Store)
Sat June 27 – Spring Creek, NC – Lighting Bug Festival
Thu July 30 – Philadelphia, PA – Silk City
Fri July 31 – Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right
Sat Aug 1 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street Warehouse
Mon Aug 3 – Durham, NC – The Pinhook
Tue Aug 4 – Atlanta, GA – The EARL
Fri Aug 7 – Toronto, ON – Sound Garage
Sun Aug 9 – Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
Tue Aug 11 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theater #
Wed Aug 12 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian Theatre #
Fri Aug 14 – Cincinnati, OH – Megacorp Pavilion #
Sat Aug 15 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman #
Fri Aug 21 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom #
Sat Aug 22 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at the Complex #
Mon Aug 24 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24 #
Wed Aug 26 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore #
Sat Aug 29 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium #
Tue Sept 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
Wed Sept 2 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
Fri Sept 4 – Portland, OR – Show Bar
Sat Sept 5 – Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret
Wed Sept 9 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
Thu 29 Oct 2026 – Vendôme, FR – Rockomotives Festival
Fri 30 Oct 2026 – Paris, FR – La Boule Noire (Les Femmes S’en Mêlent)
Sat 31 Oct 2026 – Amsterdam, NL – London Calling Festival
Mon 02 Nov 2026 – Hamburg – Aalhaus
Tue 03 Nov 2026 – Berlin, DE – Kantine am Berghain
Thu 05 Nov 2026 – Brussels, BE – Botanique
Fri 06 Nov 2026 – Den Haag, NL – Crossing Border Festival
Sat 07 Nov 2026 – Groningen, NL – TakeRoot Festival
Sun 08 Nov 2026 – Kortrijk, BE – Sonic City Festival
Tue 10 Nov 2026 – Amiens, FR – La Lune des Pirates
Thu 12 Nov 2026 – Bristol, UK – The Louisiana
Fri 13 Nov 2026 – London, UK – The Lexington
Sat 14 Nov 2026 – Manchester, UK – Gullivers
Sun 15 Nov 2026 – Glasgow, UK – The Hug and Pint
# w/ Courtney Barnett