We get a lot of press releases sent our way, but sometimes, something in particular catches our eye. On Friday (March 16) we received an email that asked the following questions: “Are you ready to release yourself from doubt? And dance your worries away?” OH DEAR GOD YES WE ARE. Turns out the remedy supplied was Lauren Ruth Ward’s new video for Blue Collar Sex Kitten”. We hyped the Los Angeles singer-songwriter earlier this year as one of our favorite new breakout acts in 2018, and her new jam continues her retro-modernized assault on brash, bluesy rock and roll. “This song is about having pent up thoughts bursting at all seams,” Ward says. “It’s about having all these opinions, all these contradictions, all these experiences, all these reservations bottled up inside because for whatever reason, someone deems them inappropriate to express. When writing this song, the lyrics just poured out of me without me having to place too much thought onto the pen and paper. We spend too much time trying to please the world and emphasize a curated picture perfect image of ourselves when in reality we’re all flawed. Admitting that is good. Thriving in it is better.” Embrace it all, at volumes falling on the loud side, below. Featured photo by Mara Stusser.