The album is set for release this July
For almost a decade, Koe Wetzel’s name has carried a certain mystique among his dedicated following, a reputation built as a powerful and unpredictable live performer, a genre-disrupter blending country with rock, hip-hop and grunge, and a notorious party animal. Now, he’s ready to prove that there’s more to his story with his forthcoming album 9 Lives set for release via Columbia Records on July 19th across all digital platforms and physically on standard Black Cat black vinyl, D2C Exclusive Translucent Blue colored vinyl and Limited Edition D2C Exclusive Pyro colored vinyl.
Produced predominantly by Gabe Simon (Noah Kahan’s Stick Season) alongside a lineup of trusted collaborators like Josh Serrato, Carrie K and Sam Harris (X Ambassadors), 9 Lives showcases Wetzel’s versatility as a songwriter and his prowess as an interpreter of songs.
Ranging from emotional ballads like “Sweet Dreams” and “Hatchet” to easygoing country singalongs such as “Casamigos” and his take on Keith Gattis’s “Reconsider,” plus songs like “Leigh” that reveal a deep vulnerability beneath their humorous surface, the album features an array of tracks as diverse as the man behind them.
“I want fans to know that there’s a different side of me, not just the sex, drugs, and rock & roll Koe that they may have heard about online,” Wetzel says. “I’ve grown up a little bit. I’m no longer the 20-year-old kid that’s partying down and getting thrown in jail all the time. 9 Lives reveals a vulnerable side that people may not be used to hearing.”
Both out now as an early preview of the album, lead single “Damn Near Normal” sees Wetzel reflecting on his life’s choices with candor and humor, while the title track “9 Lives (Black Cat)” arrives with an ominous piano intro and explodes into a chest-thumping declaration of defiance.
The live phenom also plans to take his new music global this year with his recently announced Damn Near Normal World Tour. Wetzel will also perform prominent sets at several festivals this year, including Rock the Country, Hangout, Country Jam, Country Thunder Wisconsin, WE Fest, Watershed, and more, plus a hometown stadium show as he joins Morgan Wallen’s One Night At A Time World Tour in Arlington, Texas this July.
- Continued Skit
- 9 Lives (Black Cat) (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon)
- Casamigos (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Sam Harris, Ben Burgess, Gabe Simon)
- Damn Near Normal (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon, Carrie Karpinen, Sam Harris)
- Leigh (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon)
- Twister (Ropyr Wetzel, Steve Rusch, Ben Burgess, Josh Serrato)
- High Road (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon, Carrie Karpinen)
- Reconsider (Charles John Brocco, Keith Quenton Gattis)
- Hatchet (Gabe Simon, Mike Coogan)
- Sweet Dreams (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Josh Serrato, Gabe Simon, Sam Harris)
- Runnin’ Low (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Sam Harris, Gabe Simon, Ben Burgess)
- Bar Song (Blake “Shy” Carter, Breyan Isaac, Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, Dave Gibson)
- Last Outlaw Alive (Josh Serrato, Ben Burgess, Sam Harris)
