When Koe Wetzel releases new music, he’s got a lot to live up to. With records like Harold Saul High and Noise Complaint behind him, listeners have high expectations every time they hear fresh material. However, in recent years, fans have noticed a significant departure from the original gritty edge that won them over in the first place, especially pointing to 9 Lives for its overly radio-friendly qualities. In The Night Champion, it seems Koe seeks to please both his early fanbase and his mainstream audience.
Known and loved for romanticizing the habits of an unsustainable lifestyle, Koe sort of lives in a box where he’s almost obligated to mention reckless activities and use vulgar language, but that’s a huge part of his charm. This tradition has followed the entirety of his career and continues in The Night Champion. Almost every song revolves around destructive addictions and unhealthy coping mechanisms, some instances better than others. Even songs like “Meet You There,” a standout from the album about hoping to one day be good enough for your lover, involve passing out drunk and crashing a boat into the bank of a lake in the opening verse. In some ways, however, it seems like there’s a more mature meaning behind each moment where substances are involved.
The Night Champion displays a version of Koe Wetzel still entangled in his vices, but with eyes set on higher things than partying and forgetting what happened the previous night. There’s a lot more apologizing and consistent themes of regret that haven’t been so consistent until now. That said, there’s also a lot of filler that dodges opportunities to really hit the nail on the head and sit in those downtrodden emotions. In “Dollar And A Bottle,” there’s so much lyrical fluff about getting intoxicated that you’re left wondering what the song is even about until the end of the chorus, when he finally reveals, “you ain’t coming home.” Even then, there’s still not enough context to piece together an entire story or understand where the dollar in the title fits into it.
While some points do feel lacking in important details, others feel overloaded. “Nowhere Fast” is a song that feels especially scatterbrained, using far too many words to explain the simple idea that Koe wants to get off the road for a while. Another example is “Hurts Like You,” which feels a little half-baked. Koe goes to great lengths to explain that he can endure any pain as long as it hurts the same way his relationship does. The idea sounds just as jumbled as it reads. Similarly, in “Circus,” Wetzel explores every angle of the circus metaphor and how it wasn’t what he expected, but says surprisingly little about what it actually represents.
Although some ideas don’t feel quite as tight as they could be, there’s plenty of great moments as well. Describing warning signs as “buzzards” and “sirens,” Wetzel really shines on “When I’m Gone.” This song is about an off-and-on relationship where the other person’s tendency to sleep with Koe’s friends literally only makes him want her more, which is pretty freaky, but totally something his old self would write. “Magnet,” which is also pretty naughty but a banger nonetheless, describes his partner’s bed as having a magnetic pull that keeps drawing him back.
Where early Wetzel would’ve had a lot more overdrive and rawness, this record has a lot more compression and reverb, which seems like sort of a chess move to appeal to more listeners and the overly picky music industry. Other than some overproduction, almost every song sounds awesome.The fuzzy bass and drunken guitar solo on “Ronnie Ray” are among the album’s greatest musical highlights, as well as the more experimental sound of the distorted harmonica on “Nowhere Fast.” There are far more unique rock-out moments than overpolished ones aimed at mainstream appeal. However, it’s still easy to spot hooks and production choices that seem deliberately designed to attract a wider, less niche audience. Overall, there’s a healthy marriage between high-quality production and hard rock influence that gives the album a satisfying balance between polish and grit.
For the new fan, it’s probably a treat to shuffle a playlist and land on a song like “Surrounded.” The rock infusion, the power of Koe’s voice, and the general edginess of anything he releases are enough to intrigue most outsiders. However, each of those swooning attributes feels significantly weaker than most of his other records, in its own way. Does The Night Champion feel more complete than 9 Lives? Yes. Do certain moments feel closer to Wetzel’s original style than we’ve heard in years? Still yes. But no matter how you spin it, there are too many dull moments and missed opportunities for this record to belong in the same conversation as Koe Wetzel’s greatest work.
