“My Friends & Family Would Say I’m A Firecracker”: Taylor Moss On Her Debut Album

This Friday marks a very special milestone for country artist Taylor Moss, as she sets free her debut album Firecracker into the world. 

Solidifying her position as a woman in country music, the new album will cement Moss alongside her idols as she details “Carrie and Kacey; Loretta and Lainey; Avril and Katy” for helping realise her passion in Firecracker single The Women Who Raised Me. 

Moss has previously celebrated chart-topping success with singles like Ain’t No Girly Girl and Get It Girl, and was also tapped for a Golden Guitar nomination for Best New Talent in 2023, among other accolades.

Currently independent and self-managed, Moss has done some heavy lifting to get Firecracker out to the world. “I’m really excited and nervous about my debut album being released. It’s been a big 12 months making sure all of this comes to light,” she told fans at the start of August upon announcing her upcoming project. 

According to Moss, Firecracker is a story in three parts: detailing beginnings, heartbreak, and finding love again. “Every song is or has been a part of my journey,” she said.

Celebrating the release, Moss has carefully laid her heart bare, detailing the meaning behind each track on her latest work. 

PART 1 - Introduction

Firecracker, The Women Who Raised Me & Country Proud is the moment to introduce who I am on my debut record. My friends and family would say I’m a bit of a Firecracker and have a fiery loud personality. Only seemed fitting to title the album this and make it the opening track!

1. FIRECRACKER

Firecracker was actually one of the last songs to be written for the album. This song was half-baked with a completely different idea, different title and different chords. It just wasn’t coming together, and this song fell out in about 45 minutes.

As soon as we sang the line ‘I’m a Firecracker gonna raise the roof’, I looked at my best friend Aly (Co-writer) and said ‘THAT'S THE ALBUM TITLE’. It was such an epic moment, and we're really proud of this song. It's high energy, fun and really special.

2. THE WOMEN WHO RAISED ME

As a woman in country music, I am so thankful to women in music around the world (In all genres) for inspiring me to shoot for the stars and become an artist. The Women Who Raised Me is a song about the people who have defined me, including my Mum!

I draw inspiration every day from the likes of Dolly, Shania, Taylor, Faith, Katy, and many more. They have held the flag for me and other females in music and in life. They are trailblazers. Without those before me, I wouldn’t be doing this. This is a THANK YOU to all women. I love you!

3. COUNTRY PROUD

I grew up in a little town called Ulladulla, and I was born in Milton Hospital—a tiny hospital that does not have the resources anymore for babies. Every time someone asked me where I was from and I said ‘Ulladulla,’ people would respond with, ‘Where’s that?’

I wanted to put my town and country folks' towns on the map with this song. With the lyric ‘If you’re from a town nobody knows then say it real loud, WE’RE COUNTRY PROUD’

It’s also a song about how I was raised. I used to ride my motorbike up and down the street with the neighbors' kids, dance at house parties with my nan to ‘Cotton-Eyed Joe,' and Mum would make sure I was home by 5 p.m. every night for a home-cooked meal. I love where I’m from, and I love my family.

PART 2 - Heartbreak Era

Then, we enter the ‘Heartbreak era’!… ‘EGO, Small Town Problems & Gone Fishin’, and yes, there were a few heartbreaks on the way in my early 20’s.

4. EGO

This is a bit of a sassy track. I guess we all know someone who walks around with a huuuuuge ego haha! They walk into a room and you instantly know that it's not going to end well. I definitely picked the wrong ‘type’ for quite some time and it's always left me with a broken heart. This song is a self realization song and knowing what you deserve.. And that's avoiding someone who puts their ‘Ego’ before your feelings.

5. SMALL TOWN PROBLEMS

This song is called Small Town Problems’ It’s about small towns, but it's also about cities, people gossiping , it doesn't matter where you are in the world,  Problems will arise.

No one knows how to keep a secret, if it's juicy gossip of course. I kinda wanted to make light of the fact that people will talk, whether you like it or not. In my case, people sharing a secret with me actually lead to me finding out news which I am very grateful for which leads me into the next song.

6. GONE FISHIN’

This song really dives deep into the metaphor of going fishing… but, not with bait and rods.
Someone I was dating at the time went to the bar and found a new catch before breaking it off with me. I’m thankful for the ‘Small town gossip’ because otherwise, I would have never known that he was disloyal to me. As the old saying goes ‘There's plenty of fish in the sea’ This is once again another self worth track. Not letting someone walk all over you and knowing what you deserve. That person taught me a lesson and I wrote a song about it which made the cut for my album. But it worked out for me because that transitions the album into the last section, the ‘Love Era’

PART 3 - LOVE ERA

‘Wrecked My Plans, Lifetime Subscription, Wild Mama, Dream Baby and Life Ain’t Cheap’ I had finally given up on love and stopped looking when…

7. WRECKED MY PLANS

I had completely given up on love. I had a plan to just focus on myself and my music when someone walked into my life and I instantly fell in love. Once again the old saying goes ‘When you least expect it, someone will walk into your life. The statement couldn’t be more true for me.
I never believed in love at first sight, but here we are. 3 years in and half the record is about him.

8. LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION

How this song happened it's actually quite funny. I texted Dave after 30 days of being together and said ‘Hey, your 30 day trial is up, do you wanna re-subscribe?’ He text me back and said ‘You’re funny, of course I do’

I rang my best friend straight away and said, I have this song idea! Let's write ‘Lifetime Subscription’. It would be about falling in love really fast and wanting to commit to something longer. We finished it within a few days. It wasn’t written as a ballad. It was quite upbeat but when we got to the studio, it made sense to be a ballad and maybe it could be used as a wedding song?

9. WILD MAMA

This is a real life conversation I had with my mum. You know how I said I’d given up on love? Yeah, well I told Mum that too. 2 weeks went by and I rang her and said ‘Mum, I  found someone, I think he's the one’ She responded with ‘Oh Tay, I’ve heard that before, are you sure?’ She was clearly apprehensive because of my past choices. It took a bit of convincing but once she met him, she approved. So does my whole family. I wanted this song to be full of fun energy and replicate production wise how I would talk to my mum. She loves this song and happy I finally found someone for me.

10. DREAM BABY

I wasn’t lying when I said this is the love era. When you find a love thats meant to last, the honeymoon phase lasts a long time.. This is my reality. It felt too good to be true and I was living a ‘Dream Baby’. It's just a feel good country pop tune. I wanted a mix between Keith Urban and Katy Perry and to give you a really nostalgic fisting pumping beat. Imagine if those two had a musical baby I think it would be this song here. 

11. LIFE AIN'T CHEAP

Life Ain’t Cheap is a song about the cost of living and wanting to buy a house with the white picket fence with someone you love and realizing that it's not about the house, as long as you can create a home with the person you love. With the ending line of the chorus ‘Honey Life Ain't Cheap, but thank god loving you is free’ .. This last song I wanted to leave as an open ended ‘Dream’ of what I envision my future to be. We will have all the things I mention in this song one day and I can’t wait to share it with the one I love.

But for now, let's go off with a bang with the ‘ Firecracker’ chapter!

Firecracker is out now.