ZZ Ward didn't have to look far for inspiration on her second full-length album, The Storm. Equally evocative of blues grit and hip-hop bounce, the Los Angeles-based vocal powerhouse and multi-instrumentalist leapt forward by taking a deeper look at some of her earliest inspirations – including Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, and Vera Ward Hall and Big Mama Thornton. "For me, this album wasn't really about experimenting," she admits. "It was more about simplicity, honing in on what I love about music and what makes me who I am as an artist. Growing up, I listened to a lot of hip-hop and blues, and I love those two genres so much. Sometimes, to evolve you don't need to go outside of yourself; you can reach further inside of yourself instead."

The Fedora-rocking, guitar-shredding, harmonica-wielding blues siren recorded around L.A. at different studios and at home over the course of 2015 and 2016. She re-teamed with previous collaborators such as Blended Babies [Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi], Neff-U [Eminem, Dr Dre], Ludwig Goransson [Childish Gambino, Haim] and Michael Fitzpatrick of Fitz & The Tantrums in addition to Warren "Oak" Felder of Pop & Oak [Kehlani, Alicia Keys, Alessia Cara] for the first time. "It was all about getting that raw emotion," she exclaims.

Lead single "The Deep" [feat. Joey Purp] emerged as a welcome surprise for fans, bottling the creative burst of confessional crooning and clever rap wordplay that defined Eleven Roses. A sample of The Charmels' "As Long As I've Got You" draped in classic slide guitar scorches as ZZ sings, "Don't know how much I can take, but I need it" before finger-snaps elevate the harmony. Elsewhere on the record, she serves up a gospel-style plea on the stirring and stark "Help Me Mama."