Los Angeles, USA-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist ZZ Ward previously appeared on this blog in 2023 when I shared her album, Dirty Shine. Since then, she’s experienced motherhood, and penned her new album, Liberation.

By Graeme Smith

As it so often does, becoming a parent had a profound impact on ZZ’s life. Sticking to her determination to be authentic with her music, she decided to write what she knew and put the experience to record. The result is an album that combines the timelessness of the blues genre with modern, relatable storytelling.

The blues is in her blood, inherited from her father. She’s been singing it since the age of eight, yet sometimes found her gender kept her back from performing it how she wanted. Motherhood changed that, and now she’s embraced the sound fully. It comes across strongly across Liberation’s fourteen tracks be it the toe-tapping My Baby Left Me or the longing of I Have No One.

Transitioning from a major label to independence also helps. Liberation is her first album release on Sun Records, a label that is “the vanguard of Americana.”

Notable album highlights include the stripped-back and cinematic Love Alive, soul-searching title track Liberation, the defiant Lioness, the swaggering Dust My Broom, the triumphant and intimate Clairvoyant, and rowdy, romantic album closer Next To You.

They say music is something you play and blues is something you feel. ZZ Ward is definitely feeling it in her new album. It’s an accomplished example of the genre and fiercely authentic. Those factors combine to create a compelling listen.

Liberation is out now and you can give it a listen below.