Simon RushworthKip Moore – Wild World (Snakefarm)
Moore the merrier?
Not quite.
Opener Janie Blu leans on regret’s familiar refrain.
South is an age-old tale of love lost.
Red White Blue Jean American Dream comes across as a forlorn plea for out-of-reach companionship.
And then there’s the pent-up frustration of the U2-lite Fire And Flame.
If, as Kip quipped in the pre-release publicity, Wild World was meant to bring some kind of peace then it misses the target.
But as a mature and thought-provoking exercise in modern country it does the trick.
Moore’s fourth long-player goes big on gritty reality.
An accomplished record is meticulously produced.
And if you look hard enough then there’s character buried beneath the commercialism.
Moore teams up with Dan Couch and Scott Stepakoff on the radio-friendly She’s Mine.
The earworm of a chorus isn’t out of step with late 80s Bon Jovi.
But there’s more than a hint of Springsteen about Wild World’s standout track.
More Than Enough is toe-curling in its cliché-heavy content.
And yet there’s no denying a saccharine-sweet melody (sweeter than the sugar in Kip’s coffee cup) underpins a summer hit in the making.
Moore lets rip on Sweet Virginia.
It’s an example of just how far he can go…if the mood takes him.
Released last month across the Pond, Wild World cracked the top 40 in the Billboard charts.
UK fans finally get the chance to own a physical copy this Friday.
And a nation in thrall to country music’s new breed will find much to love about a thoroughly entertaining record.
