Born and raised in New England, Noah Kahan rose to fame with the release of his single “Stick Season” and album with the same title. Fans grew to not only love his music, but his warm personality as well, creating a new big name in music: Noah Kahan.
Kahan has not released music since Stick Season in 2022. However, that changed when his new album, The Great Divide, came out breaking his four year music hiatus. The new album has been a phenomenon within his fans, many praising the album on TikTok as “raw”, “emotionally deep”, and “comforting”.
Before the new album, released on April 24, Kahan released two singles, “The Great Divide” and “Porch Light”. Both these singles, while different, have the same energy, vulnerable and comforting.
“The Great Divide” has a deep meaning and beautiful aura to it. Kahan explores the disconnect between people you grow up with, the difficulty of trauma in families, and mental health struggles, topics many teenagers can find relatable.
The entire song is so comforting, and is something incredibly beautifully composed. The lyrics are not only deeply written, but accompanied by an ethereal melody. Harmonizing together, they create a beautiful and deep song, loved by so many fans. “The Great Divide” broke streaming records, being one of Kahan’s most streamed songs.
“Porch Light”, his second, less popular single, is undoubtedly as beautiful. Although I enjoy listening to “The Great Divide” more, the pure vulnerability and exploration of how Kahan’s fame has affected his family and life back home is something so rare to hear from celebrities nowadays.
The Great Divide is truly incomparable to any other recent album. However, in contrast to Kahan’s first album, this one reflects a sense of maturity and growth as an artist. While Stick Season is incredibly written, the pure life that The Great Divide brings is nothing but beauty and vulnerability.
The album itself has an unreal amount of care poured into it, feeling like a fall day in New England. His deep lyrics and meanings within the song is something that makes his music hit close to home to so many people.
My personal favorite song is titled “End of August”, which captures the beauty of change and endings, using the metaphor of New England summers quietly changing to fall. The words flow perfectly within the songs, with the background not just feeling like music, but instead background noises of a childhood that New-Englanders are incredibly familiar with.
When asked about his new album, Kahan stated, “I was guided through the wilderness by calm voices, by the stillness of my home state, by the total commitment of my band, producers, and team, by the steady and loving touch of my wife and family, and of course, by the constant and enduring encouragement of my fans,” as shared on his Instagram account after the album released.
Kahan’s fame is something that is so special, and it has felt like a privilege to watch it grow over the past four years. He has an energy that everyone, no matter how far, can hear throughout his music. You can tell from the way he speaks and presents himself that he is genuinely thankful for everything he has earned and gotten, and would be the same even without his fame.
Available on all music apps including (but not limited to) Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube, his album is definitely worth a listen. To anyone that is interested in discovering their new favorite songs, is looking for a little bit of comfort, or likes country or folk music, this album is definitely worth the listen.
