B-Side Guys

There’s a certain poetry in ZZ Ward’s “Love Alive” being released on Sun Records, where Howlin’ Wolf once laid down his raw Delta truth. The lead single from her upcoming album Liberation demonstrates how blues fundamentals can illuminate contemporary struggles, with Ward’s signature voice serving as a bridge between tradition and modern experience.

Producer Ryan Spraker (known for work with Eli “Paperboy” Reed and Weezer) creates a sonic landscape that pays homage to Son House’s emotional directness while carving out space for Ward’s distinctive interpretation. The track’s backbone of clapping and hollering grounds it in blues tradition, while the arrangement builds layers of complexity that mirror the song’s exploration of relationship dynamics in the face of parenthood’s challenges.

Ward’s vocals navigate the emotional territory with hard-earned authenticity, delivering lines like “Every day another story ends in fire” with the weight of personal experience. The chorus’s central question – “How can we be sure?” – transforms from quiet doubt to determined affirmation through the song’s progression, supported by instrumental breaks that feel both vintage and vital.

Written during Ward’s journey into motherhood, “Love Alive” tackles the universal struggle of maintaining connection amid life’s demands. The lyrics build a powerful metaphor around fire and flame, from the opening query “Is that fire still burning?” to images of falling flames that threaten to consume. It’s classic blues imagery repurposed to address modern domestic battles, proving the genre’s enduring power to articulate human struggle.

After years of navigating industry expectations, Ward’s return to her blues roots feels less like a retreat and more like a homecoming. “Love Alive” suggests her upcoming Liberation album will be exactly that – a liberation from genre constraints in favor of authentic expression, carried by a voice that understands both blues history and contemporary heart.