Kip Moore's long-awaited sophomore album is finally almost here. Wild Ones will be released on Aug. 21 on MCA Nashville, and the singer says that his new record will be "more organic" than his freshman release.

"I came up with the music in soundchecks, playing different grooves and vibing with the band and hearing stuff and telling them to play different parts," Moore tells Entertainment Weekly. "And then I would just go back in my bunk with a guitar part of mine several nights in a row, and I would wait for the lyric to come to me.

"I wouldn’t force anything," he adds. "I would just think, ‘What does this piece of music mean to me?’ and find out what it was saying.”

The Georgia native first planned on releasing his new record last May, then delayed the release until last summer, which didn't pan out either. But the final result, Moore says, is a more cohesive project that he's proud to stand behind.

"It is a really personal record, and anytime you’re putting yourself out there for ridicule, it’s vulnerable," Moore admits. "[But] I believe in this record so much. I’ve learned that if you don’t have some people that hate you, then you’re not doing something right — if you’re one of those people where nobody really feels hate or love, then you’re stuck. Nobody is ever gonna care about you there. I’m okay if people hate me because that means there’s gonna be people who love me, too.”

Moore co-wrote all 13 songs on the new project, which he says shows a side of him that he's been reluctant to reveal until now.

"I can get stuck in really dark places, and the road can play these tricks on your mind that you’re losing so much of your life — I think that you sense some of that on this record," Moore acknowledges. "And then you’ll sense the whole other side, of this joy. The first record was such a nostalgic record, and this is a much more present record.”

The 35-year-old is currently climbing the charts with Wild Ones' debut single, "I'm to Blame." The fun, uptempo sound isn't like anything Moore has released in the past, which is just the way he planned it.

“I’m never going to make the same album twice; there’s too much of that," he says. "But I think you have to let the goal find you. I know that sounds weird but you can’t force a sound. You can’t force an emotion. The record has to find you."

Wild Ones is available for pre-order on MyPlayDirect.com.

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