Noah Kahan — The Great Divide
Noah Kahan takes another big step up.
With both singles released this year being very solid, especially the eponymous lead single, the Vermont-born singer-songwriter set the bar very high for his fourth album, The Great Divide, released April 24th via Mercury/UMG. However, Kahan clears this bar comfortably, delivering what is arguably the strongest work of his career so far.
One of the first things that stands out about The Great Divide is its expansive length – the seventeen tracks last just over an hour and fifteen minutes. However, despite this, it doesn’t get derivative or feel like it overstays its welcome – each track feels like it deserves its spot on the tracklist. Noah Kahan is very sincere and compelling as a narrator, which allows him to keep the album interesting throughout.
The record kicks off with one of its best tracks, “End of August” – an atmospheric, piano-based track that starts subtle, gradually builds up to a big crescendo and then finishes off softer once again – setting up the emotional ups and downs of what’s to come perfectly. The sounds of crickets at the beginning of the track are also noteworthy, because they serve as the perfect backdrop to the grounded, small-town rural atmosphere Noah Kahan brings to this record.
Production-wise, this album is a significant expansion and progression from Noah Kahan’s past music; inspired, in his own words, by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Sam Fender, Kahan and his collaborators lean more towards rock in the sound of this album, with some great textures and tones in the instrumentation, particularly on tracks such as “Deny, Deny, Deny” or “Dashboard” among others. Even when it comes to the softer, more mellow tracks, they still feel bigger and more important thanks to the atmospheric, intricate production.
However, as is the case with much of his previous music, the strongest suit of The Great Divide is Noah Kahan’s writing. His introspection on this project reaches beyond its regular limits – there are several tracks where he addresses himself from someone else’s perspective, most notably the second single “Porch Light”, which is narrated from the point of view of Kahan’s mother, talking about the tolls the spotlight has taken on her son. The small, but significant world that Noah Kahan creates through his lyricism is meticulously detailed and enthrallingly vivid – it feels as though you’re right there beside him, watching the stories he’s telling unfold. It makes the themes of struggling with mental health, identity, community, impermanence of all things and the inevitability of change connect significantly more in the album’s emotional highlights, such as the aforementioned title track, or the gentle, vulnerable closer, “Dan”. Kahan’s heartfelt singing does its job in elevating this resonance even further, with several cutting vocal moments throughout the tracklist.
Overall, it’s almost unquestionable that The Great Divide is the most that Noah Kahan has demonstrated of his capabilities as an artist so far. It’s his most impressive, mature and well put together work both musically and lyrically, and cements his place as one of the contemporary singer-songwriter landscape’s most notable representatives. Where Stick Season elevated him into the spotlight, this record has everything to take him to the very top tier.
8.4/10
