Music Review // ZZ Ward "Mother"

ZZ Ward has been responsible for some of the best blues music in recent memory and that fact shines brightly on this EP called "Mother".   Kicking off with the titular track, which has been a single, this just hits hard right away as a big blues explosion.   Big percussion keeps it going on "My Baby Left Me", which has those true blues undertones as it is a song about loss.  "Put The Gun Down", which was also released as a single, has that anthemic sound to it where I feel it could catch on like The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army".

"I Have No One" slows down the EP but keeps the idea of the blues alive as the title of the song suggests.   There are horns and this just feels like a power ballad.   As much as the music can really create the genre for the artist (and the musicianship on "Mother" is superb) there is also something in the vocals which has to resonate.  ZZ Ward sings in that big way that only few who came before her can be on par with and those names include the likes of Janis Joplin and Elvis Presley.  It's just that stage presence that you feel can come with belting out the vocals.

The last two songs really shine in terms of being more traditional blues, though this whole EP is blues at its best.   "Lil Darlin" has that drawn out sound that as soon as you hear it you'll know.   The way it feels like the artist is telling a story but is telling it at their pace is what makes this song glisten with guitar notes and surge with soul, somewhat like Amy Winehouse.  "Cadillac Man" has a faster paced sound which goes closer to the gospel / soul side of the blues, which I think about in relation to churches but probably finds its way outside of them more often than not.

Of these six songs every one could be a single and they all offer up something unique but still fall under the banner of the blues.   This is just some of the best blues music you will ever hear and it needs to be celebrated more.  There are very few musicians out there who have done what ZZ Ward is doing and I'm confident in saying that when it comes to current music there is just no equal.   ZZ Ward creates music which is on its own level and for that you should be listening.