Justin Moore Calls Upcoming 'Late Nights and Longecks' His Best Album to Date

Justin Moore will release his fifth studio album, Late Nights and Longnecks, on Friday, July 26. The 10-song album was co-written by Moore and his longtime producer, Jeremy Stover, where for the first time, Moore felt a freedom to say exactly what he wanted to say, in the way he wanted to say it.

"Obviously there are reasons why we record certain songs and certain albums," Moore told his record label. "I think just being 12 years into this now, when we wrote all these songs I said, 'Let's just not worry about three minutes and you know we need this type of song or we need that type song.' There have been times in the past where I go, 'Man we really need a tempo or we really need a ballad,' or whatever. And you have to be cognizant of those things but I didn't really care on this album.

"I just kind of was like, 'Let's just write the best songs we can write and then go from there.' And I feel like we did that," he added. "And every artist will also tell you every single album is the best they've ever put out, me included. But I genuinely believe that with this album. I truly do."

The 35-year-old also felt more sure of himself when it came time to record the songs for his next project – a welcome relief that he didn't find until now.

"From the standpoint of being confident or whatever you want to say in the studio, I think just doing this so long, obviously the more experience you have with the anything you get better at it or you should," Moore said. "If you don't, you need to get into some other business. But for whatever reason I'm singing better than I've ever sang, live and studio stuff, and I don't know what to attribute that to. I don't know. Maybe it's confidence. I really feel blessed that I've accomplished all that I've accomplished and am content. If it ended tomorrow, I'm content.

"So, I think it's more of a relaxation than a confidence," he continued. "You know, when you're first getting into it and you're worried about having this hit or this show or how many albums you sell or all of those things, they do weigh on you. And the pressure's off to me now. I want this to last another 10, 20 years, whatever. But if it don't, it's cool too. And I think maybe that what you interpreted to be swagger was maybe just a more relaxed me in the studio."

Late Nights and Longnecks was originally scheduled to be released in April, but was pushed back until the summer – a decision Moore wholeheartedly supported.

"It's funny because people have asked me over the last couple of weeks about me being disappointed about it being pushed back," Moore told PopCulture.com. "And I was just the opposite. I did not want to put it out. When the label mentioned April, I said, 'No, no, no, no. That's way too early. Let's push it.' So anyway, I was happy about them finally deciding to push it back. There's just so much that goes into getting an album out, and so I just didn't think we were ready by that time."

"The Ones That Didn't Make It Back Home," Moore's debut single from Late Nights and Longnecks, is currently in the Top 10. Download the single, and order the record, at JustinMooreMusic.com.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of BMLG/J. Meyers