If there’s one thing that can be said about singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/video director/record label owner ZZ Ward, it’s that she can’t be pinned down. Dirty Shine is the name of her newly announced album, slated for release on September 8, and with this news comes ‘On One,’ a lead single with zombie-cowboy music video that fully encapsulates the creative freedom Ward is striving for as a newly independent artist.

Blending a booming bass-heavy hip hop instrumental and bluesy songwriting, the song is filled with braggadocio and confidence, energy pumping from the lyrics and production. Its accompanying video is a delight to watch, drawing on a classic Western aesthetic as Ward fends off zombified cowboys, eventually leading to a dancing stand-off that leaves her undead opponents in the dust (and on the ground). Nonsensical? A little. Entertaining? Absolutely.

Released via her very own Dirty Shine Records, ZZ Ward’s Dirty Shine has been described by a press release as “a cinematic 11-song album, spilling over with an intoxicating cocktail of bold electronic textures, rugged hip-hop beats, fierce rhymes and pop hooks, acoustic Delta blues riffs, sensual R&B singing, and juke joint harmonica, Dirty Shine represents a new chapter in ZZ’s career, as she embraces life as a new mother and removes the constraints of the major label system. The album embodies the creative freedom she now enjoys and draws on the strength and determination she’s found through motherhood.”

Releases have been sparse from Ward over the years, with a five-year gap between 2015’s ‘Lonely’ in the handful of tracks she shared throughout 2020. The drought will be over soon, though—Dirty Shine is on its way.

Tracklist for ‘Dirty Shine’ by ZZ Ward

1. Welcome to Dirty Shine
2. Ride or Die (feat. Vic Mensa)
3. Fadeaway 
4. On One (feat. Jean Deaux)
5. Slow Hum Hymnal
6. Dead or Alive
7. Forget About Us
8. Friends Like These
9. Baby Don’t
10. North Bank Blues
11. OverdoZZe
12. Cut Me Loose
13. Tin Cups (feat. Aloe Blacc)
14. Don’t Let Me Down

Watch the music video for ‘On One’ below.