‘Eyes Full’ is not the first album by the avant-garde Zoh Amba, one of the most important names on the New York jazz scene, but it is the first in which she changes her intense saxophone for the guitars of alternative country. ‘Another Time’ is the Song of the Day.
On an album full of songs situated somewhere in the middle between classic folk and modern Americana, ‘Another Time’ stands out as the melodic gem of the LP. The song that you will like even if you don’t enjoy the others. However, the first thing that catches your attention about the song is Amba’s raw voice.
She sings about a colleague or acquaintance whom she has seen “talking to dogs again” or asking God if he is nearby. In the second verse, it becomes clear that the artist is talking about someone who is desperately searching for some hope in her life: “You were playing the guitar in the street / You were looking at every eye that passed by / You were looking for God.”
‘Another Time’ doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but it has plenty of elements to appreciate. Bob Dylan fans will enjoy both Amba’s vocal freedom and the multiple riffs that run through the song, while Adrianne Lenker listeners will immediately identify a voice that is both vulnerable and tremendously powerful.
