Kip Moore Pushes Buttons With ‘Dirt Road’

Kip Moore's second single from his upcoming record, 'Dirt Road,' is steadily climbing the charts. The tune, Moore says, is indicative of the direction of his sophomore album, which is a sharp departure from his 2012 'Up All Night' project.

"It’s definitely a very intense record, but there’s also a lot of really good-feeling songs on this record," he tells Taste of Country. "I think that even some of the ones that might carry heavier subjects still make ya feel good … which is kind of what ‘Hey Pretty Girl’ did, but this is in another kind of light. This record is a really good-feeling record. It’s just a very intense record."

The 34-year-old, who says in hindsight 'Dirt Road' should have been the debut single, insists that there's much more to the song than the title.

"It’s not about a dirt road and it’s not about beer," he maintains. "It’s more about the rebellion of that youth … when you have that youth and you’re trying to figure out who you are. And it’s that rebellion against what theories and beliefs are being pushed on you kind of thing ... The good thing about this song, at least it is pushing some buttons. It’s pushing buttons in a good way and a bad way. That’s fine with me."

Not that all of the tunes on the new project will have heavy subject matter. Moore says there are also some lighter songs on the record, including one called 'Cigarette' about a girl he let get away.

"I was writing a ballad with Jared Johnson and Chris Stapleton and we were kind of writing this really heavy lyric. And I stepped outside and saw this cute girl smoking a cigarette and she put the cigarette in the ashtray," he recalls. "And then when I went over there to look at it, you know it had the red lipstick all around the cigarette butt. It’s just a song that’s killing live right now. People are loving it and it’s just all about, 'I just want to be that cigarette butt that’s in your mouth. I don’t want to be your boyfriend. I don’t want to be anything serious. I just to want to … basically I want to get a hold of your lips.'"

Moore's new record was originally scheduled to be released last month, but he delayed it until later this summer so he'd have more time to put the finishing touches on the new set of tunes. He is currently serving as the opening act on Tim McGraw's Sundown Heaven Town Tour, and will then kick off his own headlining trek, CMT on Tour: Up in Smoke, this fall. See all of his upcoming shows here.

Download 'Dirt Road' here.