"I
think there are certain things that you can't find out about yourself,
when you are constantly surrounded by people. I feel, like being
uncomfortable is the best way to learn who you are. I really feel that
way."After 12 years, Kip Moore parted ways with his label MCA Nashville in the spring of 2024, for which he had recorded 5 studio albums. In the fall of the same year, he presented a new label: Virgin Music Group. "[I needed] someone who understood the international capacity," the 44-year-old-artist emphasized in an interview with billboard.com. "They have foot soldiers all over the place, so they wanted to pour gas on the international thing — which, the Nashville labels are not as focused on."
After all, the last few years have taken Kip Moore from America to Australia, Great Britain and continental Europe, and even to sold-out stadiums in South Africa. Markets that still offer a lot of potential and to which he would love to add Brazil or Mexico.
When 13 songs had been selected for the new studio album by autumn of 2024, the first project for Virgin Records Group seemed to be complete. But the label didn't plan a release before early 2025 and therefore encouraged the artist to continue working on it. When Kip Moore's sixth studio album was eventually released on February 28, 2025, it contained 23 songs and was titled "Solitary Tracks".
Billboard.com describes it as genre-agnostic, but at least the album title picks up on the ambiguity that country likes to incorporate into its song structures. While the title song tells of the intersecting paths of two loners who only leave solitary tracks (in the snow or sand), the English word tracks also stands for title or song . Thus perfectly summing up what Kip Moore has increasingly become known for in recent years: namely, cutting his own path musically.
Hell-bent stubborn, yeah, we'll probably die tryin'.
Ain't never been the ones to run with the pack,
just a couple lone wolves makin' solitary tracks.
James Daykin of entertainment-focus.com also has a hard time assigning the project to a specific genre. He underlines the wide range of influences when he writes: "'Take What You Can Get' and 'Good Things Never Last' see Moore dipping into blues and classic R&B, adding a fresh layer to his sound with groovy guitars and soulful backing vocals. The former channels The Rolling Stones' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', in both sound and style whilst 'Good Things Never Last' merges that Muscle Shoals sound with a classic Rolling Stones swagger and a healthy dose of classic R&B and Motown."
Whatever musical influences you may find on the album, Kip Moore puts his own stamp on it with his characteristic voice. In terms of content, he has long since moved away from the simple themes of his very first album from 2012, which - in keeping with the trend of the 2010s - was mainly about pickup trucks or beer. His songs have long since turned towards wanting to understand how life works. Songs in which he is almost always involved as a songwriter.
"I'm never going to cheat by just trying to write what I think people want to hear, or hold onto a sound that worked for me," Kip Moore stresses on musicrow.com. "I'm going to always be authentic with myself, with every record, and all I ever hope is that people find a little solace. This project is a journey in itself, so I hope it helps people navigate their own life. You gotta be bold enough to trust your gut, and willing to roll those dice if you believe in something."
"Solitary Tracks" is Kip Moore's reflection on life's instances the way he feels them. A life shaped by memories, hope and doubt, thrown into turmoil when understanding and courage has gone missing.
But it still suggests a positive outlook, like on 'High Hopes', even if the underlying insight is a sobering one:
when you're standin' on a mountaintop.
Oh, but when you take a slide,
hell, it's like they all just forgot.
just another sucker, you see,
another horse in the stable,
but you ain't heard the last of me.
'Livin' Side' also describes the unexpected, positive turn in a life seemingly lost. The moment when it's finally time to really live:
that were shining on a broken man.
They took my deposits, so I cleaned out my closet,
shut the door on the boogieman.
I met a real good girl, kinda changed my world.
Now I've finally let thosе demons die,
guess I'm trying a lifе on the livin' side.
'Straight Line Boots' also deals with the theme of a lost man who is saved by a woman, while the familiar country theme of 'Half Full Cup' is about small town dreamers. 'Burn', on the other hand, is an escape from the madness of this world into the simple life in the country, hoping that it will not burn down too.
Written by Kip Moore with Casey Beathard and producer Jaren Johnston, 'Like Ya Stole It' is a story about the first driving lessons with the father, whose recommendations are also advice for life: enjoy the ride [and] if the good years ever go bad, come back home.
The epic 'Southern Son' describes the story of the protagonist, who was born and raised in the South, but finds his love up north (in Canada), eventually wishing his son to also be born in the South:
a damn rollin' stoner.
I'm kinda feelin' like those days are gone.
Traveled on the gravel all around this world,
think it's time I go and raise me one [southern son].
'Flowers In December' deals with transience and the passing of time, which eventually may be able to heal wounds, provided one is ready to come to terms with the past: there's a peace and I feel it all around me - now I know it's time to say goodbye.
But on 'Forever Is A Lie' dreams have crashed and burned into a cynical illusion after a broken relationship which started out so hopeful:
always a song you love, but it don't last long.
And all things end, baby, that's a fact,
and when the sands run out, well, it don't come back.
There are 23 rewarding songs with far-reaching musical influences, lyrical themes and cathy melodies. There is only one BUT. It's a low point that comes from the production by Jaren Johnston, together with Kip Moore. It has all the vocals mixed so low-fi that in some places it is almost difficult to understand the lyrics. Some of the passages sound so washed out and muffled that an s becomes an f and I get the impression that tissue paper was being used as a filter for the voice. It makes it sound like it comes through a transistor radio far away instead of being in the same room with the artist.
Subjectively, the songs where Jay Joyce ('Love & War') and Oscar Charles ('Take What You Can Get', 'Alley Cat', 'Learning As I Go') were involved in the production sound clearer. Also the solo production by Kip Moore ('Forever Is A Lie') avoids most of the muffle.
Bottom line, "Solitary Tracks" doesn't care about trends or requirements. It takes up what Kip Moore considers to be apt and is thus fully shaped by the artist (and unfortunately also by the producer). At the same time, however, it also reflects the human Kip Moore, who says in The Tennessean: "I'm an introspective person who is always trying to process who I am in relation to all the other humans in the world. I'm not as driven by what the world perceives as the precious value of success. My soul gets charged up by creating human connections (defined by) taking care of people and creating great experiences for them."
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