You can take the Nashville singer-songwriter out of Boston, but you can’t take the Boston out of the Nashville singer-songwriter. That’s especially the case with Chris Moreno, who teams up with DJ/producer Joe Bermudez on his latest single, “One Way Track,” out today (July 9). Moreno’s latest electric pop-country earworm comes as his game continues to elevate; his 2020 single “Used To This” just zoomed past 500,000 Spotify streams, while his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is creeping on a cool million.
Not a bad look for the Northborough native, who relocated to Nashville in 2018 to shift his career into overdrive. Now, the propulsive track he’s on leads to this collaborative effort with Bermudez, a cruising jam about making tough decisions in life and powering through. Moreno would know a thing about that, abandoning his corporate job a few years back to pursue music full-time.
“For me, the song is about the struggle of trying to give up something or someone that we know isn’t right for us and how difficult of a process that can be,” Moreno tells Vanyaland. “At a certain point we may recognize where the road will lead if we stay on it and what the ultimate outcome will be, but it doesn’t make it any easier to let go. Sometimes the temptation is just too great and we end up giving in. I’ve been there at times in my personal life, in relationships, etc., but I think it’s a universal message that people will be able to relate to whatever they may have gone through.”
True to pandemic-life form, “One Way Track” was crafted and cultivated with Bermudez over a series of Zoom calls, giving Moreno another chance to connect with his hometown roots.
“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Joe and all that he’s accomplished, so I was really excited about the idea of collaborating with him,” Moreno adds. “The song started out with a track that Joe laid down and from there I threw some guitar on it and we both collaborated on the lyrics. It was later mixed and mastered by Justin Wantz who has produced all of my recent work, and I think the result of the three of us collaborating is something that stands out as being different for me, while still being cohesive within the catalog of music that I’ve released.”
Carry forward with it below.