Kip Moore- Solitary Tracks
Label: Virgin
Producers: Kip Moore, Jaren Johnston, Jay Joyce, Oscar Charles
For the past dozen years or so, Kip Moore has quietly been one of the modern country sphere’s most reliable mainstream voices, while residing considerably beneath the blockbuster echelon of superstars. His blazing vocal chops and sizzling sex appeal have furnished him a sizable chunk of durable hits, many of them “bro” anthems that achieved a rare level of quality that his peers in the 2010s Nashville landscape couldn’t come close to reaching. Those who looked past those chart successes to his overall arc as an albums artist would be rewarded to find an ever deeper artist, both an entertainer and songwriter worthy of the headline status that would be reserved for the Zach Bryan archetypes that would emerge a decade after Moore’s breakthrough. If Kip himself had emerged in the early 2020s instead, we might be talking about him in those same conversations, but as it stands now, he still deserves to be.
And in a just world, Solitary Tracks would be the record to make that happen. His country labeling has distracted the general public from realizing that Moore has actually been one of the most consistently pure rock artists of the last decade. His electrifying Heartland Rock sound and now-cliched Bruce Springsteen comparisons have been a constant thread through his artistic narrative, and those qualities, combined with his gifted lyrical craf,t are given their most fully realized showcase to date throughout Tracks. As the album title suggests, this is a pensive and reflective body of work, with Moore delivering some of the most striking rock ballads I’ve heard in eons, from the title track and “High Hopes” to the gorgeous “Pretty Horses” and the wrenching “Bad Spot”. These moments and many others find Moore delivering new peaks for his talents as both a storyteller and both a solo and collaborative songwriter. If you’re using Springsteen albums as a litmus test, the bulk of the record leans far closer to Tunnel of Love, than say The River. Given that this project also finds Kip indulging in the viral trend of double albums, this more reflective soundscape runs the risk of becoming tiresome in a 90-minute, 23-track set list. This album mostly avoids that pitfall, which is a credit to the uniform strength of the songs, and Moore’s fetching charisma.
Moore also does eventually return to his more rocking persona on several rollicking outliers, among them the slinky “Alley Cat”, fiery “Good Things Never Last”, and the amped-up Paycheck-recalling, “Live Here to Work”. Their random sequencing in the midst of an otherwise cohesively musing mood feels a bit jarring and out-of-place, but the sheer adrenaline likely will provide a welcome change-of-pace for many listeners in the midst of the record’s marathon length. And, the fact that Moore delivers them with the same high standards set by the rest of the record certainly helps.
All in all, Solitary Tracks unequivocally provides Kip Moore with a new career high, and restores the artistic momentum provided by 2020’s excellent Wild World. It stands to be one of the year’s purest roots-rock releases, and earns its place as an early contender when 2025’s year-end lists are compiled ten months from now.
Track Listing:
- “High Hopes” (Kip Moore, Dave Nassie, Zach Ziemer)
- “Solitary Tracks” (Moore, Brett James, Dan Couch)
- “Pretty Horses” (Kip Moore, Nathan Chapman, Blair Daily)
- “Livin’ Side” (Moore, Couch, Kristian Bush)
- “Around You” (Moore, Jaren Johnston, Casey Beathard)
- “Half Full Cup” (Moore, Johnston, Beathard)
- “Bad Spot” (Beathard)
- “Straight Line Boots” (Moore, Johnston, Beathard)
- “Rivers Don’t Run” (Moore, Johnston, Beathard)
- “Burn” (Moore, Johnston, Beathard)
- “Like Ya Stole It” (Moore, Johnston, Beathard)
- “Southern Son” (Moore, Couch, Will Lynde, Morgan Evans)
- “Learning As I Go” (Moore, Couch, Luke Preston, Oscar Charles)
- “Alley Cat” (Moore, Couch)
- “Live Here To Work” (Moore)
- “Love & War” (Erich Wigdahl, Manny Medina, Nassie)
- “Flowers In December” (Moore, Wigdahl)
- “Forever Is A Lie” (Moore, Lynde, Wigdahl)
- “Wildfire” (Moore, Couch, Charles, Hank Born)
- “Tough Enough” (Moore, James)
- “Good Things Never Last” (Moore, Beathard)
- “Take What You Can Get” (Moore, Couch, Preston, Charles)
- “Only Me” (Moore, Charles, Preston, Couch)
The 706 
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