Though it would be unfair to lump Kip Moore in with the inner sanctum of the Bro-Country sect, the biggest song of his career so far has been the decidedly Bro mega hit “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck.” Kip was already veering somewhat in the direction of the style we see reveal itself in full force on Wild Ones before the release, so we can’t be wholeheartedly surprised by the overall style of this album. Big time artists such as Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line have doubled down on the style, and the result has been a unfortunate prolonging of the era. That health assessment of Bro-Country was likely true, and it’s not that over the last year Bro-Country has found a second wind as much as it has refused to die. Kenny wanted to be ahead of the curve and not behind it, and indications in 2014 were that Bro-Country was on the heavy wane. Indications were that Kenny had amassed an album of material that veered into Bro-Country territory since this was the hot style of the time, but sensing a shift in the winds, he scrapped it, took a year off from touring, and with long-time producer Buddy Cannon, pointed his nose in a completely different direction that resulted in the release of the first single called “American Kids” complete with minor chords, hand clapping, and Lumineers’ style “Hey!” shouts. Apparently Kenny had an entirely different album recorded and in the can when he decided to completely switch gears. To understand how we arrived here, it might be helpful to revisit Kenny Chesney’s album The Big Revival from 2014. Though you may discover significant plaudits for this project and its refreshingly forward-thinking and non “Bro-Country” approach, Wild Ones is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and despite Kip’s willingness to take sonic leaps in the music itself from what were used to hearing in the mainstream country realm, a deep listen reveals little depth of songwriting, and a reliance on a style that is interpretive and derivative of the outmoded “Avett Brothers/Mumford & Sons/Lumineers” influence as opposed to a truly original expression, regardless of how foreign it might sound to the fawning ears of country music. As further evidence that Music Row in Nashville is completely out of ideas and totally devoid of any true direction, I offer into state’s evidence Kip Moore’s latest album Wild Ones.

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