THE GREAT DIVIDE  - Noah Kahan

Album review by: Lindsay Carson

While I’ve been listening to Noah Kahan for awhile now, I’ve never put my media literacy skills to the test and listened to his songs both analytically and critically. So, I am challenging myself to review his new, very long album. Instead of just getting lost in his rustic vocals and folky sound, I am going to try to immerse myself into every aspect of the album, so let’s see how that goes.

 

End of August

Noah, you’ve released this album in April. Anyway, the sounds of nature (e.g. crickets) are to be expected from Kahan’s crunchy style, but I was pleasantly surprised by the almost classical piano intro. This is a long song to start off a long album, but as I’ve said in previous reviews, I like artists writing songs as long or as short as they like instead of being formulaic and putting themselves into a marketable box. Anyway, this is a somber and reflective song, not just lyrically, but the vocal harmonies paired with the piano make the tone clear. It has the classic Noah Kahan folky sound and a story about his hometown and mental health struggles that aren’t new for him to be singing about. Unfortunately, I relate to his lyrics about the way he seems he couldn’t grow his life in his more conservative hometown. I think, in the current political climate, many will relate to this poignant song.

 

Doors

This song starts with a long acoustic guitar intro. I, of course, noticed a mention of sticks, which could be a nod to his previous album; STICK SEASON. This song is seemingly an exploration of childhood memories and issues that arise with them. A quick aside but, I like how he used the word “malcontent” because we don’t use that word enough. I love the use of a tambourine, the way it has a classic Noah Kahan sound, jumping to a higher key halfway through the song to show off his smoky vocals. It’s a sad song but it's so upbeat, so you want to dance while trying not to cry. Perhaps that is done to show the complicated nature of looking back at a childhood that was, for a lack of better words, not the happiest.

 

American Cars

From the beginning, this song is especially folky, featuring what sounds like a banjo. Noah Kahan continues to sing about his struggles with mental health and drinking, and how it drove him to isolation. Perhaps he isolated himself because of all the pressure he felt was put on him to be better than everyone else, to fix things, to be the rock. It’s a pressure I think many will relate to, from what I’ve heard, eldest siblings may relate to this song. I am the youngest, but I must agree that putting too much pressure on one person to be the most responsible, to fix any issues, is never good. It’s a very vulnerable song juxtaposed by upbeat strings, making the listener have to really consider what they’re listening to.

 

Downfall

The intro of this song sets it up to be heartbreaking, being a slow melody into emotional vocals. This song seems to be about a failed relationship and the bitter feelings that come after that. There’s no “best wishes” here, but much the opposite. I think it’s human to hold negative feelings towards a negative situation, even if that situation involves a person. Perhaps the song is petty, but we all get petty feelings sometimes. It’s a repetitive song with it’s melody, doesn’t do any big changes like other Noah Kahan songs that will have a key change or a big crescendo, this one is more subtle in its musicality. However, it’s vast in its nuanced emotions. I like how the lyrics do the heavy lifting of this song.

 

Lighthouse

The intro to this song is very interesting, and even more telling than the last. It’s quiet, very little string action and seemingly mixed with electronic production, but it’s very slow and almost ethereal. It then bleeds into slow, sad vocals. This song is so, incredibly evocative. I cannot imagine being able to listen to it without feeling a pang of hurt, or even crying. It’s a poignant song about loss, from what I’ve gathered. It’s honestly hard to talk about this song, as I want to do it’s beauty justice. I will keep this brief and say this well written song is so beautifully emotional and I enjoyed being hurt by it.

 

Paid Time Off

This song doesn’t waste time, immediately starting with Kahan’s vocals. He brings in a falsetto tone throughout the song, breaking up the low, raspy vocals. About a minute and a half in, the beat changes from slow and dragged out, to a thudding and upbeat rhythm. It’s extremely folky, and even a bit country. It’s a very interesting song about people staying in their hometown, not moving away. Though, at its surface, it seems to be a happy song about people who liked their small town life. However, it could be argued that the true meaning, is perhaps the protagonists are keeping themselves sheltered and now allowing them to find happiness outside of their hometown. They spend all their time working for some paid time off. Are they truly happy with that. That’s my interpretation anyway. As for my review, I like the song, but I don’t often listen to music that ride this close to being a full blown country song. I may come back to it on a rare occasion though.

 

Staying Still

This song has ladybugs in the YouTube lyric video, so I liked it off the bat. This song is for New Englanders, because it references things that I think New Englanders would understand and appreciate more than a Floridian like me. That being said, I liked the guitar heavy melody, the way both the instrumental and his voice gets softer in the bridge to then build into a big moment at the end. Plus, its overall message about endings and having to repeatedly start over when things don’t work out is something that is relatable, I’m sure to many.

 

The Great Divide

I have big hopes for songs that share their name with the album title. There were once again ladybugs in the lyric video, so that’s a good start. The story of this song hurt though. It’s a song reminiscing on a relationship from childhood, likely a friendship, that ended in a ‘great divide.’ Now, Kahan wishes this person nothing but the best. As an adult, he understands the hardships their friend was going through in a way he didn’t when he was young. It may not seem that heartbreaking on the surface, especially being more upbeat, but it's surely full of sorrow as you dig deeper into the lyrics. I wanted to scream along to it, and maybe cry a little.

 

Haircut

Another straightforward start with Kahan’s vocals beginning with the music. This song seems to have an intriguing message that could be interpreted in many ways. One possibility is Kahan is singing about not selling his soul to the life of a celebrity. It also hints at being about a person with a victim mentality. Either way, it’s a song that’s surely wrought with pain. I believe it utilises a violin in its folk sound as well, which is fun. I also liked the vocal trill he did towards the end.

 

Willing and Able

This is a very slow song, making it easier to get into the emotion of it all. This song seems to be about wanting to fight it out, because at least a fight has passion, and is better than the quiet death of discontent or apathy. Of course, that’s just my interpretation. The song seems very personal to Kahan, who doesn’t shy away from vulnerability in his songs. The relationship sounds complicated, whether it’s a romantic relationship, a friendship, or a familial relationship. The lack of clarity gives it versatility. Meaning, while it sounds like Kahan pouring his heart out about a specific scenario to him, an audience could assign many scenarios to it, and therefore find it relatable. I don’t think art has to be relatable, but sometimes it’s nice for people to have something to relate to many sad scenarios. Finding comfort in a song, feeling like you’re not alone, it can be quite healing.

 

Dashboard

This song begins with an acoustic guitar intro, and a very classic folk sound. However, Kahan’s voice seems to have more of a country twang than usual as he sings his emotional lyrics. The music adds more instruments during the chorus, and continues that intensity through the rest of the song. Although, he punctuates some of the lyrics at the end of the first chorus by cutting out the instrumental entirely. This song is another one that could classify as petty, as he is clearly singing about others' perception of him. It could be about the people he left behind when he improved himself and his life. He may have set new boundaries that people took as him just being a jerk. At least, that’s my interpretation of it. I like how cutting the lyrics are, paired with his classically folk style.

 

23

This song starts with another acoustic guitar intro but with a more plucky sound. Lyrically, he continues his sarcastic, satirical, and even petty storytelling. However, it’s also extremely emotional in its somber reminiscing. A possible interpretation is that Kahan is no longer in contact with an addict he used to know. He wants the best for them, he feels defensive when it comes to them, but he can’t bring himself to reconcile with them even if they are clean now. Perhaps because he can’t disconnect from the ill memories he has of them. It’s a deeply vulnerable and confessional song, and I always find beauty in and appreciation for  expressing hard topics and feelings through art.

 

Porch Light

The first thing I noticed about this song is how well the lyrics flow despite him using words that could easily turn clunky and wordy. Another confessional and emotional song, as it seems to be about loving someone who is destroying themselves. The way you may try to be there for them, but it’s difficult when you care for them well more than they care for themselves. As for Kahan’s vocals, he alternates his ragged, low vocals with a vulnerable falsetto.

 

Deny Deny Deny

This song starts out more upbeat, with guitar, drums, and even a tambourine. It kinda has a sunny and lighthearted vibe to it. However, that juxtaposes its’ story. The song seems to be about a family member, as he sings about coming home drunk and this person denying the past. It seems he has a strained relationship with this person, but has come to terms with the way this person lies and how their relationship will never be healthy and repaired. This seems to be a hard topic to openly sing about, so I must once again commend Noah Kahan for being so vulnerable in sharing his story. This may be my favourite song on the album.

 

Headed North

This song has a humorous beginning, where the guitarist messes up and mutters a profanity. However, it turns into a forthcoming story about Kahan’s hometown. He sings about the social and political mess of it all, the right wing nature of his community, and how hard it is to tolerate without the person he’s written the song for. He wants them to come visit his hometown to make it easier to tolerate, as they have in the past. It’s a stripped down, folky song that doesn’t do much production-wise, but I don’t mind that. I think, sometimes, it is nice for music to just go back to the basics. The way it has laughing in the background and ends with a cut off sentence, makes it seem like it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and I think it’s beneficial for artists to not always take themselves too seriously in order to make their craft more enjoyable.

 

We Go Way Back

This song has a folky, yet ethereal tone to it. It features a lot more falsetto vocals, and it seems to have a softer story. Though he seems to sing about relationship anxiety, it comes from a place of deep love. This song seems to be one of Kahan's few love songs that is soft and sweet. I believe he is singing about the mundanity of love, and how he doesn’t mind that aspect of it. I adore this song, as it shows a side of Kahan that he doesn’t often show. Of course, I greatly respect him keeping his relationship with his wife private as I am an advocate of maintaining as much privacy as possible in today's digital age, but I am never opposed to a love song.

 

Spoiled

This song is a cuter one as well, as it looks more to the future and doesn’t entirely reminisce on a turbulent past. Kahan sings about how he works hard now to give his future children an easier life. It’s interesting though, how he still self-deprecates during the song. He sings that his children will say “I wanna be you, but I don’t want to be that.” It’s another song that is so raw, emotionally. While it isn’t all about the past, it does hint at wanting to give his kids a better childhood than he had. I do like that he is exploring different feelings in his music, and different facets of those feelings. It’s not just about how his childhood affects him personally, but how it will affect his future children. I am once again going to use the word confessional, because pouring out all his nuanced feelings is in every way confessional.

 

All Them Horses

We’re back to reminiscing on the past. This is especially forthcoming about Kahan’s childhood, telling somewhat specific stories throughout the song, then goes into how he is now away from his hometown and how that may look to people. It could also possibly be about the way your hometown can have a hold on you, even when you leave it. It has lyrics that allow the listener to pick apart and analyse, perhaps put their own meaning in a way that relates to their own life or feelings toward their hometown. Many are interpreting it to be about natural disasters in Kahan’s hometown, which makes sense lyrically. However, I think that could be the surface of the song, but underneath could be more personal to Kahan. However it’s interpreted, it’s definitely poignant.

 

A Few of Your Own

This song tells an interesting story, once again featuring relationship anxiety. The fear of losing someone, expecting them to leave, especially when they see the worst of you. He seems to even expect things to end, and asks his lover to tell good stories about him, even made up ones. Of course, that is just my interpretation, as I could definitely see this song having multiple interpretations. It’s a more upbeat song though, and less somber than others on this album, so I can see people dancing around and going on adventures with their friends with this playing in the background.

 

Orbiter

 

This song is seemingly all about Kahan’s feelings on fame, and a person in life who grounds him despite the tumultuous life that comes with his career. It’s soft, much like “We Go Way Back”. It seems to be laced with so much adoration for the person he’s singing about, seemingly his wife. Again, a lot of his songs are full of angry or sad feelings, but this one is pure love for his person. I quite like the inherent vulnerability of singing about love, especially in a song about how the person he loves means so very much to him. Sometimes, confessing such feelings can be anxiety inducing and downright difficult. Putting them into a song for millions to hear shows great vulnerability that I can imagine only comes with such intense feelings, he couldn’t help but sing them. The thought is quite touching.

 

Dan

 

Wow, I can only imagine this song was both cathartic and extremely hard to write. It starts off bluntly, about the death of someone from high school, seemingly during high school. It’s such a complicated experience to sing about, when it’s something so dark that happens during childhood. It could very well be mixed with sorrowful memories, but also fun ones, as it relates to being a child. Noah Kahan is very good at writing lyrics that are so specific but evoke complicated emotions. To be quite honest, the song was so heart-wrenching, it nauseated me. A song should make you feel something, and Noah Kahan knows how to make his listeners feel all types of emotions, even indescribable ones. What an incredibly tough yet touching way to end this listening experience.

 

What a long album this was, but it seems Noah Kahan had a lot to stay. He was vulnerable about mental health, addiction, relationships, and more. I commend the artistry of making something that you have to really take the time to listen through and dissect. I also must commend the vulnerability and confessional nature of it all. As I previously mentioned, a big part of the consumption of art is how it makes you feel, and Noah Kahan definitely knows how to make an audience feel something. Whether they can feel his emotions coming through the songs, or relate their own feelings to his experiences, this album is nothing short of an evocative and poignant experience of many different emotions.