Noah Kahan has spiked heavily in popularity in 2023, making an impact on social media and taking over people’s Spotify Wrapped. Through his folk-infused pop and distinct vocals, he has changed the way people view this genre of music. Kahan released his album, Stick Season, in 2022. It was not out of the ordinary popular for him, but he re-released it in 2023, calling it Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), with new songs and collaborations that made his career explode. Kahan knows his audience and genre well, bringing in collaborators like Gracie Abrams, Post Malone, and Hozier, to further amplify his already amazing songs. Olivia Rodrigo covered his song, Stick Season, bringing in an even greater audience of listeners who wouldn’t normally give folk music a chance.
Stick Season opens up with the song Northern Attitude. Immediately we hear his district raspy voice and tune that connects folk to pop that drew so many people into his music. In this song, like many of his other ones, he talks about complex relationships and the doubt they might come with, “If I get too close, And I’m not how you hoped, Forgive my northern attitude”. Kahan does a great job at attacking difficult themes while putting them in lyrics that feel relatable and personal. This first song in the album feels almost like a description of him, giving us a sense of personal connection to the songwriter.
The next song on the album is Stick Season, one of his most popular and upbeat songs that blew up on Tik Tok. Although the song talks about being left behind and being forgotten, it does so through thought out and creative lyrics, “And I’ll dream each night of some version of you, That I might not have, but I did not lose, Now your tire tracks and one pair of shoes, And I’m split in half, but that’ll have to do”. This song feels so versatile that even when Olivia Rodrigo covered it, whose genre is more pop-rock, it still sounds just as good.
Another song on the album is She Calls Me Back, one of my all time favorites from him. As opposed to his other songs that talk more about the hardships of losing someone, this one focuses on the love that still lingers from the heartbreak. There are too many good lyrics to choose from, but one of the ones that stick out to me are, “That I do not exist to die, But live to die while saving you”. If you choose to listen to any of his songs, make it this one. All of his lyrics blend together to tell a story, and the beat of this song is arguably one of his bests.
There are many songs to talk about on this album, but I’m going to jump to the ones he added in his re-release. Dial Drunk is one of his songs that blew up on Tik Tok, and for good reason. This song is able to have an upbeat while still talking about sadder topics and it works so well, “I’m untethered’ from the parts of me you’d recognize, From charmin’ to alarmin’ in seconds, I’ll be bedridden, I’ll let the pain metastasize, But that’s mornin’, I’ll forget it, And the dial tone is all I have”. This song is able to mention alcoholism, heartbreak, and betrayal, while having a beat that can be blasted on a summer drive, showing Noah Kahan’s versatility.
Lastly, I’ll be talking about You’re Gonna Go Far. This one hits especially close to home for those leaving for college like myself. Kahan is able to capture the exact feeling those leaving their loved ones experience, “So, pack up your car, put a hand on your heart, Say whatever you feel, be wherever you are, We ain’t angry at you, love, You’re the greatest thing we’ve lost”. It feels as if Kahan has experienced every feeling imaginable, and somehow captures it in the most perfect and entertaining way.
Folk-pop music has always been popular, but Noah Kahan has shed a new light on it, exposing the genres to those who would have never given it the light of day. Kahan captures indescribable feelings and puts them into addictive music. Although social media platforms like Tik Tok have given him a boost in the last year, it is so well deserved.
