We are so back. Despite only releasing two singles, “Surrounded” and “Werewolf,” 2025 proved to be a pretty huge year for Koe Wetzel. Riding the highs of his 2024 album, 9 Lives, he would score his first-career #1 hit on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with “High Road” featuring Jessie Murph. In case that wasn’t enough for the Texas native, “High Road” would also go on to be named iHeart Radio’s #1 song of 2025 and furthermore, top Mediabase’s year-end chart, capturing the year-end #1 spot there as well. With the release of 9 Lives back in 2024, it was clear that the “Sweet Dreams” singer was at a bit of a fork in the road in terms of both his career as a whole and his sonic style entirely. Beyond the obvious fact that Wetzel is now the biggest and most mainstream he’s ever been, the album itself saw him playing with a more polished, sometimes alternative R&B-sounding approach that felt to some like a departure from the sound many grew to love in the Noise Complaint and Harold Saul High Era. Though we undoubtedly got flashes of that signature Koe style, mainly on songs like “Twister,” “Runnin’ Low” and the title track, it was clear that the Texas native wanted to branch out and, in turn, distance himself slightly from those early hits throughout his career. Wetzel would echo a similar sentiment with an interview back in December with Country Countdown USA, where he called 2025 a “rebuild” year after touring extensively with HARDY, becoming a father and recording “piles and piles” of new music. “Yeah, we’re coming, man. We got piles and piles of new music stored away. All dropping in 2026. I’m going back to write here, once the holidays are through we’re going to start on some more new music. So, 2025 for us was just kind of a rebuild year. You know, we toured with Hardy, and it was just kind of a we got in the studio and cut as much music as possible in 2025, and we did that. We got one hell of a record, you know, I think. In my opinion, every artist is going to say that their newest record is the best one that they’ve ever done. But for me, this batch of songs and this sound that we’ve kind of come together with, it’s awesome. This whole new sound to me has continued, and it’s… I don’t know, we’re really excited about it.” Throughout the month of January, it became increasingly clear that Wetzel was getting ready to kickstart his brand new era of music. In addition to the previously released teaser for his upcoming album, which contained six separate teasers for new tracks, Wetzel began to heavily tease his brand-new track, “Time Goes On,” on nearly every one of his social media posts. In particular, his January 7th album teaser with the caption, “Ready for this new chapter to start,” really turned heads and got fans begging for an official album announcement. Though we still haven’t gotten word on when a new album (or two) is coming, the “February 28, 2016” singer would announce on January 28th that his new chapter would officially be starting TODAY with the release of his brand new single, “Time Goes On.” View this post on Instagram Written by Wetzel himself, along with Amy Allen, Carrie Karpinen, Josh Serrato and his producer, Gabe Simon, “Time Goes On,” feels like a return to form in many ways for the East Texan. Sonically, it feels incredibly reminiscent of his classic country-grunge sound present on the likes of the aforementioned Noise Complaint, complete with a killer build-up in the pre-chorus that drops into the chorus. With that being said, his maturity throughout the years can be felt quite heavily. Though the production might trick you into thinking you’re in for another heavy, booze-soaked anthem from Wetzel, “Time Goes On” is ultimately quite the reflective track. Setting the scene in the first verse by reminiscing on the carefree, reckless days of his past, reality ends up setting in for the now 33-year-old singer/songwriter. Grappling with the fact that those days are gone, he reflects on just how fleeting time truly is while simultaneously looking back on just how crazy the past decade has been for him in the music industry. “Today I woke up And those days are gone You say you can’t go back Tell you what I coulda done a lot of things right I coulda done a lot of things wrong Could be pulling concrete on a West Texas street but I’m writing this song Crazy how the years go fast Crazy how the hours feel long Even through the mistakes and “I can’t get through this” Hell time goes on The time goes on” Ultimately, the track feels like the perfect marriage between the old sound many long-time fans have been craving while simultaneously bringing a more reflective, mature edge to his music lyrically. “Time Goes On” feels like Koe in his sweet spot, especially at this point in his career, and I see the song having some major staying power as he readies the release of his seventh studio album. Wetzel’s new chapter is officially here, and it’s safe to say he’s officially back. “Time Goes On” The post Koe Wetzel Readies Next Chapter Of His Career With Release Of Reflective New Single, “Time Goes On” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.