The full music video treatment.
Today, Koe Wetzel released the music video for his new song with Jessie Murph “High Road,” which has become a very fast fan-favorite from his forthcoming album, 9 Lives.
Just a little less than two weeks ago, it debuted at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (which encompasses all musical genres), and became the highest-charting debut of both of their careers.
“High Road” was written by Koe along with Amy Allen, Carrie Karpinen and producer Gabe Simon, and finds Koe taking the “high road” both literally and metaphorically, as he uses a different approach to a conflict in a rocky relationship, deciding not to fight back but rather take some time to cool off (which also includes getting stoned, if that wasn’t obvious).
The production is definitely in line with what we heard on the previous release “Sweet Dreams,” with a lot of R&B flavor that I do think he pulls off with his rock-infused unique brand of Texas country.
And while there have been some people that were upset that it wasn’t a solo effort from Koe, Jessie’s part has grown on me a lot since the first listen and I can totally see why Koe tapped her to be on this song with him… sure, her delivery is a little bit different (especially if you’ve never heard any of her other music), but I do think it’s neat, and necessary, to hear the woman’s side of what went down with this fight through her voice.
In terms of the video itself, it’s pretty simple and straightforward, which shows Koe and Jessie in a studio with a couple of Koe’s band members playing in the background, singing the song and belting their little hearts out.
This style of video definitely feels much more vulnerable, in a sense, than some of the others we’ve seen from Koe that have a lot more production value and more of a plot and a story to it. I appreciate the simplicity of this and think it really lends itself to the overall feeling of the song.
You can watch it here:
Koe has released three other songs from the record thus far, including “9 Lives (Black Cat),” “Damn Near Normal” and “Sweet Dreams.”
9 Lives was 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) and is due out everywhere on July 19th.
9 Lives Tracklist:
“Continued” Skit
“9 Lives (Black Cat)” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon)
“Depression & Obsession” (cover)
“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)
