Happy Two Year Anniversary To Koe Wetzel’s Surprise Album, ‘Harold Saul High’

A person playing a guitar on a stage
Ben Porter

Yes, it’s really been two whole years since the masterpiece that was Koe Wetzel’s Harold Saul High was released, as a total surprise, on June 21st, 2019.

Koe Wetzel named Harold Saul High in honor of his late uncle and best friend, and it launched his career that was already on the fast track into a whole other realm of star power beyond the Texas scene.

Since then, he’s released another album, Sellout, and even signed a record deal with Columbia Records.

Now, there are quite a few people in the world of music criticism and reviews who will probably laugh at the fact that I’m calling it a masterpiece, but I don’t really care. He managed to tell stories, good, bad and ugly, with humor, solid songwriting and captivating melodies.

They’re all so unique, and a few of them remain some of my favorite songs of all time to this day.

Of course, like I’ve said before, Koe isn’t a traditional country artist in any sense.

He has major influences of rock and grunge that are obvious to pretty much anyone who knows anything about music. He’s also said he plans on doing a full-blown country album by the time he’s 30, so hopefully we’ll get a taste of that in the next few years.

But, I think that’s a huge part about what we all love about him. He’s a wildcard. And, if nothing else, a breathe of fresh air in a genre that can be afraid to cross any lines or say something that might be considered “inappropriate”.

He brings a hefty dose of personality into a space where it feels like that’s sorely lacking, especially in the mainstream.

I mean, if you’re a fan of his, I’m sure you already know, but if you’re not, just look at some of his tweets. They’re downright hysterical and oftentimes make no sense (to the general public), but you can’t help but laugh your ass off. If you don’t follow him on Twitter already, you should fix that.

Like I said, some of them are wild, but I love it.

Koe has been on the road touring for quite some time now, especially in Texas, but will look to hit other cities throughout the summer and fall this year. He’ll also turn 29 on July 14th, so that leaves just one more year until he should be gracing us with his completely country album.

If it’s as quality as Harold Saul High, I think we’re in for a huge treat.

Never change, Koe. Never change…

So in honor of today, turn up some of my favorite tracks from HSH:

“Ragweed”

“Forever”

“Make Believe”

“Too High to Cry”

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STAY ENTERTAINED

A RIFF ON WHAT COUNTRY IS REALLY ABOUT

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