CURRENT SINGLE: “We Didn’t Have Much”
When Justin Moore was working on his last album, Late Nights and Longnecks, he wrote or found about 40 songs that he loved, and held onto the ones that didn’t make that album, for future projects, like his new album, Straight Outta the Country, which he will release this Friday, April 23rd. “In all honesty, majority of the songs that are on Straight Outta the Country were written at the same time that I wrote Late Nights and Longnecks,” says Justin. “Had we had the opportunity to put 30 or 40 songs on the last album, which is not a possibility, they would’ve been on that album.”
So, even though a few of the songs on Straight Outta the Country sound like they ciould have been inspired by recent current events, Justin says, “I didn’t actually write it in quarantine. You know, I’ve talk to artist buddies of mine and it seems like we all kinda went one direction or the other throughout the quarantine. Either writin’ like crazy and feeling super productive and creative on the music front, or the complete antithesis of that, which I would fall into that category. I just haven’t felt super creative, which is a blessing that we had this music ready to go because of that. This is kind of an extension of the Late Nights and Longnecks album, and I think that if people enjoyed that album they are gonna enjoy this and see the continuity in it, I believe.“
Just as the title of the album implies, Justin’s new album and is pure country. On his 2016 Kinda Don’t Care album, he stretched his boundaries a little with songs like “Somebody Else Will,” which was interesting for him, but when he made Late Nights and Longnecks, he made a conscious decision to step back into the middle of his wheelhouse, which is straight country music. And for Straight Outta the Country, Justin says, “It was a conscious decision to continue that path. Because I kinda said with the last album, I enjoyed what I did on Kinda Don’t Care, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoyed, you know, what we did on Late Nights and Longnecks, and now Straight Outta the Country. I feel like this is what I do the best.”
One interesting thing about the new project is that Justin only co-wrote two of the eight songs, which was a surprise to him, since he usually writes the bulk of his albums. “Honestly, I’m disappointed if that’s correct,” he joked.
Ultimately it came down to putting together the best project for the fans. “When you put an album together, it’s kinda like putting a puzzle together,” explains Justin. There may be songs that you absolutely love that just don’t really fit a project. So, anytime I put an album together, I never really look and go, I’ve gotta write ‘em all, I don’t have to write ‘em all, whatever. It’s just kind of the way that the puzzle pieces fit together best. We thought this group of songs fit best together. So, I thought I wrote more than that, but maybe I didn’t. I don’t know. But at the end of the day, my fans deserve for me to give them the best material I can, whether I write it or I don’t.”
At the end of the day, Justin says, “I hope people love it. I’m very proud of it, and excited to get some new music out there for people. It’s been a couple of years I guess. Hopefully everybody is as excited to get it as we are to get it out to ‘em.”
Straight Outta the Country comes out this Friday, featuring Justin’s current single, “We Didn’t Have Much.”
Justin Moore – already had songs for new album :36
“No, I didn’t actually write it in quarantine. You know, I’ve talk to artist buddies of mine and it seems like we all kinda went one direction or the other throughout the quarantine. Either writin’ like crazy and feeling super productive and creative on the music front, or the complete antithesis of that, which I would fall into that category. I just haven’t felt super creative, which is a blessing that we had this music ready to go because of that. This is kind of an extension of the Late Nights and Longnecks album, and I think that if people enjoyed that album they are gonna enjoy this and see the continuity in it, I believe.“
Justin Moore – mindset recording album :42
“You know, in all honesty, majority of the songs that are on Straight Outta the Country were written at the same time that I wrote Late Nights and Longnecks. Had we had the opportunity to put 30 or 40 songs on the last album, which is not a possibility, they would’ve been on that album. So, I’ve had this music for two, three, four years now. So, yes it was a conscious decision to continue that path. Because I kinda said with the last album, I enjoyed what I did on Kinda Don’t Care, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoyed, you know, what we did on Late Nights and Longnecks, and now Straight Outta the Country. I feel like this is what I do the best.”
Justin Moore – writing two songs for new album :47
“Honestly, I’m disappointed if that’s correct (laugh). I don’t even know, to be honest with ya. We were just tryin’ to pick the best music, and really, we wrote enough for two or three albums. So, when you put an album together, it’s kinda like putting a puzzle together. There may be songs that you absolutely love that just don’t really fit a project. So, anytime I put an album together, I never really look and go, I’ve gotta write ‘em all, I don’t have to write ‘em all, whatever. It’s just kind of the way that the puzzle pieces fit together best. We thought this group of songs fit best together. So, I thought I wrote more than that, but maybe I didn’t. I don’t know. But at the end of the day, my fans deserve for me to give them the best material I can, whether I write it or I don’t.”
Justin Moore – expectations for SOTC :16
“Well, my expectations, I hope it’s successful, number one. No, I hope people love it. I’m very proud of it, and excited to get some new music out there for people. It’s been a couple of years I guess, hopefully everybody is as excited to get it as we are to get it out to ‘em.”