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On studio album number five, American country music singer-songwriter Kip Moore offers up the perfect conundrum for those who enjoy taking a peek into the meaning of an album title; and the concept that comes with it. Is Moore meaning ‘Damn Love’ from the point of someone who for whatever reason love is hard to come by, or someone who has had to deal with heartache one time too many and in order to survive has now adopted the persona of De Niro’s character in the uber-iconic movie Heat (“A guy told me one time, “Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner”)?
In the case of the title track itself, it begins along the lines of ‘Dayum Love!’ as it deals with the head-swimming discovery of young love; “It’s young, crazy, stupid/It’s two kids and cupid/Target on a heart, arrow right through it/It’s wild, reckless, dumb”, but by the end of the track Moore offers up more of a cautionary ‘Damn, Love’ tone; “For the bees, for the birds/No surprise, it’s a four-letter word/It’ll heal, it’ll kill, it’ll hurt/I hope you’re tough/Damn love”. All played out with a gorgeous picking guitar-tone, and a pulsating beat running in the background. It’s a lighter-than-light way to open the album and makes perfect sense as it is three minutes that most will identify with. The howl from Moore halfway through works perfectly with the faint, almost-whispered female backing vocals. ‘Kinda Bar’ is a fantastic follow-up and cannon fodder for Moore audiences worldwide. Easy to sing along to, has a chorus to bellow out, and a real boot-stomping vibe.
Coming in at 13 tracks and nearly 50 minutes in length, ‘Damn Love’ is a weighty prospect that highlights a few different facets of Moore’s music; there are moments such as ‘Heart On Fire’ and ‘Silver And Gold’ that at times stray too far into ’80s disposable music territory; much better is the 6-minute epic ‘The Guitar Slinger’ which offers up more of Springsteen-meets-Bob Seger narrative that deals with the juxtaposition of life on the road (IE how can someone be lonely when they are surrounded by others) Moore sings: “It’s the life and times of the guitar slinger/The day and the night of the good-time bringer/Highs and lows of a sad-song singer” before taking a darker tone with “I watch ’em line up in the streets/There’s nothing left but the shell of me/Guitar sounds ringing in my head/I know I’m alive but I’m walking dead” – comparisons to Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ are easy to make due to the lyrical content, although musically it is more along the same lines of ‘Dry County’. The quiet, gentler ‘Another Night In Knoxville’ continues with the theme of what life is like for a musician; “Another night in Knoxville/Up on top of this wooden stage/Pouring out my heart like whiskey/Just like I poured out yesterday” and if ‘Heart On Fire’ and ‘Silver And Gold’ are ‘Born In The USA’-era Springsteen then ‘Another Night In Knoxville’ is ‘Tunnel Of Love’-era Springsteen and provides one of the highlights on the album. The stark and reflective ‘Sometimes She Stays’ is another, and it is when Moore strips it back (as he does on these particular tracks) that he really shines. Another highlight would be ‘One Heartbeat’, a gorgeous duet with Ashley McBryde that gets better with each listen.
Dealing with the familiar territory of what could have been, ‘Micky’s Bar’ is a toe-tapping, simplistic, and quite haunting way to end the album. With UK dates to follow in May, it is going to be interesting to see how many of these new songs slot into the live set. At least 5 or 6 are shoe-ins (‘Kinda Bar’ will slay), and will ‘Heart On Fire’ and ‘Silver And Gold’ lose some of that studio sheen on a live stage? Find out on one of the dates listed below.
‘Damn Love’ is available now via Snakefarm. More information here.
Review – Dave
KIP MOORE UK TOUR 2023
FRI 19 MAY BIRMINGHAM – O2 INSTITUTE
SAT 20 MAY LONDON – ROYAL ALBERT HALL
SUN 21 MAY LEEDS – O2 ACADEMY
WED 24 MAY GATESHEAD – SAGE
THU 25 MAY MANCHESTER – O2 RITZ
FRI 26 MAY GLASGOW – ACADEMY
SAT 27 MAY BELFAST – BOTANIC GARDENS
