Everything We Know About Kip Moore’s New Album, ‘Wild Ones’
The wait for Kip Moore's sophomore project is almost over! Due to meager chart success with what were supposed to be the first two singles from the album, Moore decided to scrap his first attempt at the record and start over -- and what came from the long journey is a record that he's extremely proud of: Wild Ones.
Below, The Boot has compiled everything we know so far about Wild Ones and put it into one place so that fans can scour the details and look forward to the day the album drops.
The Title
Wild Ones takes its name from its very first track.
The Release Date
Moore's newest album will be released on Aug. 21, 2015. Fans can pre-order the album with an exclusive merch package through MyPlayDirect.
The Cover
The Wild Ones album cover looks like street graffiti: Against a black, almost chalkboard-looking background, there is an image of Moore, mouth opened and one arm raised. Broad strokes of blue, red, orange and yellow make his figure stand out against the background, and "Wild Ones" is written in yellow, in a graffiti style.
The Single
Wild Ones' lead single, "I'm to Blame," is a song that Moore has been playing on the road for several years. It's a confessional song of sorts: Moore knows he's made mistakes, but he's also proud of who he is.
“If it ain’t broke, you can bet that I’m gonna break it / If there’s a wrong road, I’m damn sure gonna take it,” he sings, adding in the chorus, “I come from a long line of bloodline that ain’t gonna change / So, take your pistol-pointing finger right off of the trigger / I know where to aim / Hell, I’m to blame.”
The music video for "I'm to Blame" shows off Moore's quirky sense of humor. In a video concept that Moore himself came up with, the country star and his real-life band don powder blue tuxedos to play the part of a wedding band.
The Songs
There are 13 songs on Wild Ones, all of which Moore co-wrote. And, as Moore puts it, the songs came to him -- not the other way around.
“This one is more organic than the first," he says.
Instead of sitting in session after session, specifically hammering out sounds, Moore wrote the record while on the road.
"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," he explains. "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; I would just think, 'What does this piece of music mean to me?’ and find out what it was saying.”
In mid-August, Moore shared "Magic," the album's fourth track.
“I kind of got to thinking about the way love is constantly described on the radio as this fairytale and how that just isn’t real. I’ve never really believed anybody who’s singing about that stuff ... and I want to believe what I’m hearing and singing about," he explains of the tune. "So we started with that concept, and we spun it to where I’m finally feeling it, that magic, and wanting to believe its real, and not slip away.”
Shortly thereafter, Moore also revealed Wild Ones' 11th track, "That's Alright With Me."
“I could give a s–t what anybody thinks or calls me,” Moore says, simple, of the tune.
He's also revealed "Running for You," "That Was Us," "Backseat" and "Wild Ones."
Kip Moore, Wild Ones Track Listing:
1. “Wild Ones”
2. “Come and Get It”
3. “Girl of Summer”
4. “Magic”
5. “That Was Us”
6. “Lipstick”
7. “What Ya Got on Tonight”
8. “Heart’s Desire”
9. “Complicated”
10. “I’m to Blame”
11.”That’s Alright With Me”
12. “Running for You”
13. “Comeback Kid”
The Songwriters
Moore co-wrote every song on Wild Ones along with prolific Nashville songwriters Brett James, Chris DeStefano, Rodney Clawson and more.
The Record Label
Moore will release Wild Ones via MCA Nashville, the label behind his freshman album, Up All Night.
The Recording Process
Moore originally planned on releasing his sophomore project in May of 2014, but, as fans know, it was delayed several times.
“Sometimes life hands you a card that you might not have wanted, and you’ve got to learn how to play that card,” he said at the time. “I have a lot of fans who are mad about it taking this long. But we still need that big single to get up the charts in order for [the record company] to release the album.”
When Moore's single “Dirt Road” barely cracked the Top 40, and “Young Love” halted at No. 22, Moore and his team realized that something was up ... and he needed to take more time for the truly great songs to emerge.
“We had to regroup and come up with something else. There was a lot of disagreeing in certain things, and I can be very bullheaded, too,” he adds. “But in the end, we all agreed on what’s the best way to move forward.”
“Because of “Dirt Road” stalling and me having more time than I thought, I scrapped the record and started over,” Moore reveals. “The record was supposed to come out a year ago, and that stalled. And because I never stopped writing, my writing morphed into a whole ‘nother thing. I liked where the body of work was going, so I decided to make that the record.”
The Vibe
The 35-year old admits that in the time since his 2012 debut in country music, he's become a completely different person. He explains, “I think you sense a lot of desperation on this record."
Of course, some of the desperation could have stemmed from the fact that Moore needed to start the whole record process over again when his first couple of singles didn't pan out, but it's also because the road can do that to you, he says.
“It’s such a traveling circus that we do for a living — that’s why I called this record Wild Ones — and that evokes so many emotions," Moore explains. "It can bring such a joy when things are going well, and it can bring such a sadness, especially with someone like me that’s already kind of ... 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.
"And then you’ll sense the whole other side, of this joy," he adds. "The first record was such a nostalgic record, and this is a much more present record.”
Moore also admits that Wild Ones is an extremely personal and vulnerable record.
"[But] I believe in this record so much," he continues. "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.”
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