ZZ WARD: TIL THE CASKET DROPS

GENRE | HIP-HOP SPIKED WITH MOONSHINE
VERDICT | GOES DOWN A LOT EASIER THAN MOONSHINE
LABEL | HOLLYWOOD RECORDS
RELEASE | 10.16.12

In her debut studio album, ZZ Ward concocts a fine brew of hip-hop and some of the most soulful R&B this side of the Mississippi, adds a dash of New Orleans drawl and Delta swagger,

and sprinkles a liberal amount of smoky vocals with more than their fair share of lip.

Not to say that Til the Casket Drops doesn’t have its pop-ridden moments. But these get skillfully masked behind Ward’s bluesy belting, soul-wrenching guitar licks, bouncy piano rifts, and a healthy dose of understated rap (That’s almost certainly a thing –Ed.) to bring it all home.

Now to the meat and potatoes of this gem of an album: its downright-dirty fierceness that will stick on your throat like bourbon distilled by B.B. King on the hottest summer night since ’65.

Even its mellow points (like “Last Love Song”) don’t seem out of place amid these jaunty breakdowns.