I like to consider myself one of the original Noah Kahan fans.
After all, 9 year-old me would blast “Passenger” through my wired headphones in the car. Constantly.
And after Kahan’s last album, “Stick Season,” came out in 2022, he blew up. Overnight, everyone was in love with his music. But, I wasn’t.
“Stick Season” was good, but it just wasn’t the same for me as “Busyhead” or “Cape Elizabeth” — some of Kahan’s older music.
When Kahan announced “The Great Divide,” I had high expectations. I hoped that Kahan would either gravitate to some of his older styles — mellow folk music that brings bittersweet feelings — or try something new that would hopefully be a hit.
The second I pressed play on my way to school on April 24 — the day the album was released — my expectations were exceeded.
“The Great Divide” is a mix of Kahan’s old style, and a new energy that creates an extraordinary album that feels like a breath of fresh mountain air when it's played.
Some of the new songs referenced previous albums, making me feel like I was 9 years-old in the backseat of the car again.
In “Dan,” Kahan says, “Think I stood right here back when Carlo died. Said I hated the way I made it all about me.” This reference to “Carlos Song,” on the “Busyhead” album, and his struggle with grief, made the album more meaningful.
Not to mention, the original album included 17 songs, but Kahan also released a surprise deluxe album, “The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs,” later in the evening. The deluxe album included four extra songs, making it a whopping 21-song playlist. Kahan also stated on his Instagram that these four songs were some of his favorites on the album. And I wholeheartedly agree.
The depth of his lyrics is unmatched in this album, and you can see his connection to home. While in “Stick Season,” he talked more about his parents, in “The Great Divide,” Kahan writes about his siblings, his newfound fame and how much he misses his home.
Though not everyone has been through the same losses or rise to fame that Kahan sings about, his music has a way of connecting people and touches on emotions we’ve all felt, like anger, loneliness and sadness, even if they haven’t been caused by the same reason.
Finding small easter eggs like “Carlos Song” made the album enjoyable to listen to and made me listen to each song even closer, looking for other hidden layers.
“Dashboard” was one of the more folk-leaning songs on the album and is about watching people move away, a feeling all younger siblings know too well.
In his recent documentary, “Noah Kahan: Out Of Body,” Kahan speaks about the pressure he felt while writing “The Great Divide.” Part of it was caused by his rapid rise to fame and the hit that was “Stick Season.”
And I’m happy to say that he shouldn’t have to worry, because “The Great Divide” was everything I’d hoped and more. And until his next album, I’ll be blasting it in my car until I’m yelled at to stop.
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