TW: Suicide, Mental Illness
Stick Season, the third studio album of New England singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, was my favourite album of 2022. Kahan’s folk album about his small-town home in America – concurrently personal and universal in its intimate, painful explorations of identity, change, and relationships – is a nostalgic tribute to the places that break and shape us. Written from his childhood home during the COVID-19 lockdown, Kahan shares a series of insights into his own struggles, from addiction, to feeling stuck in your hometown, to mental illness, all told through the lilting melodies and acoustic folk ballads that populate the album. All these anecdotes provide a mirror for a fractured, post-pandemic world that at once articulates the achingly transitory nature of life, and fosters a sense of community and healing amongst all of us who related to the songs.
So, when Noah Kahan announced that he would be releasing a deluxe version of Stick Season, subtitled We’ll All Be Here Forever, this unsurprisingly provoked a wave of eager excitement and anticipation for new additions to the already phenomenal album. With short clips teasing the songs on Kahan’s social media, providing glimpses into the evocative lyrics that are characteristic of Stick Season, the wait for these new tracks was agonising. But fans were already falling in love with them before their release. After his concert on 10 June, just one day after Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) became available, the artist wrote on his social media, “the feeling of hearing 15,000 of you sing every word to a song that was released yesterday is indescribable”.
Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) adds seven new tracks to the album’s fourteen, a significant extension. The first standout song is undoubtedly Kahan’s newest single, and the most highly teased prior to release, ‘Dial Drunk’. A folk track sung from the perspective of someone struggling with alcoholism and calling someone they shouldn’t after being arrested, ‘Dial Drunk’ is a devastating song infused with shame and bitterness, unafraid to deal with the gritty consequences of addiction. The catchy chorus rapidly went viral after being shared on Tik Tok, and the banjo throughout gives the song a whimsical quality, despite its subject matter. ‘Dial Drunk’ is a testament to Kahan’s lyrical storytelling and is undoubtedly one of the most impressive additions to his repertoire yet.
The historical reference of ‘Paul Revere’, as the man who rode at midnight to alert colonial militia of the approach of British forces in 1775, went straight over my head. I would presume that anyone who has sat in a history class in America would be far more familiar with the name. Nevertheless, the song is another instalment in a series of tracks exploring the ache of wanting to leave a hometown you have outgrown and, after a brief excursion to Wikipedia, I truly connected with it. It is perhaps the most beautiful example of Kahan’s ethereal, mellow voice, allowed to shine over a more stripped back, acoustic melody.
The final two new tracks are arguably the most emotional on the album. ‘Call Your Mom’ is a harrowing plea to a mentally ill loved one contemplating taking their own life. (I should add, please listen with care. For anyone who has been affected by suicide, this song is visceral and raw.) As Noah entreats this person to stay, for their own sake and for everyone who loves them, he assures them that “all lights turned off can be turned on”, and it feels as though he is also addressing us. Get your tissues ready for this one. And maybe give your mum a call if you can.
‘You’re Gonna Go Far’, though more hopeful, is equally moving. Sung from the perspective of a family member, or a friend of someone moving away, it is a tender, elegant track that perfectly captures the bittersweet feeling of a loved one moving on to pursue bigger things. It would make a beautiful final track, and as the last of the new songs, may be seen as such. ‘You’re Gonna Go Far’ lets us know it’s okay to leave things behind in search of our dreams, but reassures us that home will always be waiting.
Closing on an extended version of the original album’s beloved final track ‘The View Between Villages’, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) is more of the magic we saw in the first fourteen songs released last October. There is a compelling sort of lyrical intertextuality in Kahan’s oeuvre, with recurring motifs throughout the songs, allowing listeners to piece narratives together within the vivid world of Stick Season. Without a doubt, Noah Kahan is an artist to watch; to produce such self-realised, elegantly expressed music at just twenty-six years old is a promising sign for his future career, which only seems to be growing. Wherever he goes next, he is sure to go far.
File:Noah Kahan.jpg” by Noah Kahan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.