Kip Moore is a bit of a revelation. Any time he has graced a stage here in Ireland, he has sold out any show he plays. Now, sadly, I have yet to experience the man in the flesh live myself, as we appear to be ships in the night, but I am confident that will change sometime soon.
Instead, I have opted to envelope myself in his latest offering, ‘Reason To Believe’, out May 29th, courtesy of Virgin Music Group. As previously mentioned, I know that this man is adored; his fans are all in when it comes to Kip Moore. So I am curious to see what all the fuss is about.
The album kicks off with ‘Levee’, his lead single, and it is a tasty rocker that gets the blood pumping through the veins. His raspy voice has that rich, ethereal quality that grabs your attention right away. I know this is going to be one tasty ride! ‘Get What You Give’ follows on with a harder-hitting vibe; he’s kicking off the album with two real attention grabbers, and you can’t deny that they do their job well. Two hugs anthemic numbers that you know will become fan faves in no time. With six studio albums under his belt, he makes this all look easy. Every tune has an easy-on-the-ear, free-flowing quality that you can’t fake. You either have the gift or you don’t, and Kip has it in abundance. Along with his co-writers, who have assembled a collection of songs that will be timeless classics among the Moore fanbase, he hits the mark on every track.
Even on your first spin, you can appreciate the addictive quality of these songs; really, they should come with a health warning! Each one will have your foot tapping or you warbling along as best you can, trying to keep up with Moore’s stellar vocals. If you can, you deserve a medal! On my first spin of a Kip Moore album, I am seriously impressed. I am midway through, and there honestly is not a bad track on this album. Kip, for sure, is doing his own thing in the Country sphere, a voice all his own in a heavily saturated market. It can be hard to separate yourself from the chasing pack, but somehow he has carved out a space for himself that is a sound all his own.
As you work through this album, you realise that Kip goes way beyond the realm of Country and Americana; he’s an old-school singer-songwriter-rocker in the vein of Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and more. His repertoire knows no bounds, and he cannot be boxed into one genre; he literally could sing the phone book! (For the kids that don’t know what that is … shame on you!) I think we have arrived around track 10 and ‘Long Time Coming’ before we get a breather and Kip slows things down for something akin to a ballad, though realistically we get lured into a false sense of security before Kip goes full-on rocker mode with ‘Sober’ as he races toward the completion of this fine album. AND then, just like that, you arrive at the last track on the album, ‘Josephine’, and you wonder how you got there.
What an introduction to Kip Moore for me, an album dripping in quality. I look forward to having him on our shores once again, but for now, I look forward to going back over his catalogue to catch up on what I have been missing out on.
‘Reason To Believe’ lands this Friday, May 29th, courtesy of Virgin Music Group, and it will no doubt keep the raging hordes at bay just for a little while, but as Kip says himself, he wants to make good on his promise to release more music than ever before. That will indeed be music to the ears of his dedicated fanbase.
Pre-order/Pre-save Reason To Believe
Reason To Believe Tracklist
1. Levee (Kip Moore, Luke Preston, Hank Born)
2. Get What Ya Give (Kip Moore, Luke Preston)
3. The Darkness (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts, Luke Preston)
4. Heartbreaker (Kip Moore, Jaren Johnston, Casey Beathard)
5. Headlights (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts)
6. You & Me (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts, Hillary Lindsey)
7. Faith In The Wind (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts, Luke Preston)
8. Reason To Believe (Kip Moore, Dan Couch, Scott Stepakoff)
9. Lonely Tonight (Kip Moore, Casey Beathard)
10. Long Time Coming (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts, Luke Preston)
11. Wild Things Like You (Kip Moore, Dan Couch)
12. Sober (Kip Moore, Manny Medina, Dave Nassie, Erich Wigdahl, Hank Born, Will Lynde)
13. Josephine (Kip Moore, Manny Medina, Dave Nassie, Erich Wigdahl, Hank Born, Will Lynde)
Tour Dates:
For tickets, visit kipmoore.net.
May 29 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena ^
June 5 – Hinckley, MN – Hinckley Amphitheater *
June 6 – Milwaukee, WI – Landmark Credit Union Live *
June 12 – Maryland Heights, MO – Saint Louis Music Park *
June 13 – Des Moines, IA – Lauridsen Amphitheater *
June 19 – Grolloo, NL – Holland International Blues Festival #
June 21 – Munich, DE – TonHalle**
June 23 – Zurich, CH – X-TRA**
June 25 – Cologne, DE – Carlswerk**
June 27 – Chelmsford, UK – State Fayre #
July 17 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 *
July 18 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage *
July 24 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater *
July 25 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater *
August 7 – Port Wentworth, GA – Port Wentworth Amphitheater *
August 8 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy *
August 20 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J Brady Music Center *
August 21 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed *
August 22 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill *
September 10 – Charleston, SC – Firefly Distillery *
September 11 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre *
September 12 – Richmond, VA – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront *
October 17 – Pretoria, ZA – SuperSport Park Stadium
October 23 – Cape Town, ZA – GrandWest Arena
October 24 – Cape Town, ZA – GrandWest Arena
October 30 – Melbourne, AU – The Forum
October 31 – Melbourne, AU – The Forum
November 6 – Brisbane, AU – The Fortitude Music Hall
November 7 – Brisbane, AU – The Fortitude Music Hall
November 13 – Sydney, AU – The Enmore Theatre
November 14 – Sydney, AU – The Enmore Theatre
November 21 – Christchurch, NZ – Christchurch Town Hall
November 22 – Auckland, NZ – Auckland Town Hall
^ – with Cody Johnson
* – Billy Currington & Kip Moore: Live In Concert
** with Jackson Dean
# – Festival
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