NASHVILLE, Tenn. - When country singer Kip Moore wasn't performing, he was traveling the world to places like Iceland and Costa Rica looking for the next great wave to surf, or a cliff to climb or a remote trail to hike. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Georgia-born globetrotter found himself pretty well suited to isolation as well.
"I've always kind of been an introvert at heart that's forced to be an extrovert because of what I do," said Moore, from his rock-climbing lodge near the Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky.
When other artists have decided to postpone releasing albums, Moore on is putting out "Wild World," his fourth album and one of his most soul-searching releases yet.
"This is a time of need for people," said Moore. "I think there's so many messages on this album that it will help people dig up those bones of what they've suppressed and analyze them and process them."
The album's title track isn't just an apt description of today's uncertain times. In the lyrics of "Wild World," he's thinking back to the life lessons his mother and his late father taught him around their kitchen table. On "Fire and Flame," which builds like a U2 "Joshua Tree"-era arena rock song, Moore addresses his tendency to sometimes neglect his faith.
"When I am taking the time to pray and meditate and stay grounded in that, I am so much more in peace," Moore said. "But yet, I still push it away and I'll walk away from it for a long time. I still hold onto it, but I don't spend time nurturing it. And that's when I get really dark and lost feeling."
On this album's closer, "Payin' Hard," he shares his remorse of not spending more time with his father, who died in 2011 just as his career was starting. "Those are deep-rooted, dark-kept things I've had in the closet for a long time with regret," Moore said.