Noah Kahan fans everywhere rejoiced (or…cried) when it was announced that his fourth studio album “The Great Divide” would be dropping on April 24th. As an eldest daughter who moved 8 hours away for college last August, it seemed very appropriate that the lead single, with the same title, was announced as I sat in LaGuardia Airport with my feelings on the way home from Christmas Break.
Kahan rose to fame in 2023, just after the release of his 3rd studio album “Stick Season” and the many deluxe versions that came with it. The album held gut wrenching lyrics and tales of a hometown in New England that you desire to leave, and all you will leave behind. After “You’re Gonna Go Far” was all over my TikTok, I went and listened to the entire album, and was immediately a fan. I have since added all of Kahan’s discography to my library, and my personal favorite songs are “Maine” and “Come Over.”
When the song “The Great Divide” dropped, I was in my dorm laundry room, and sat down there and cried as I folded t-shirts. I had spent the entire month of December absolutely stalking @thelastofthebugs on TikTok, where Kahan dropped snippets of the album before it was even official. Needless to say, I’ve been waiting anxiously for this album. Especially after I came out victorious in the Ticketmaster War for Kahan’s upcoming tour (July 18th cannot come soon enough).Â
It was later announced that Conan Gray’s deluxe version of “Wishbone” would also be dropping on April 24th, and you can read UBHC’s Senior Editor’s Brielle’s take on it here.
I was in McDonalds after opening night of my college musical Into the Woods (which you can read all about in my HC Dorm Diary!) when the album officially dropped, and I spent the weekend balancing the absolute joy of performing with my friends with the doom and despair the vibes of the album seemed to bring. But when I sat down Monday to dissect the lyrics for real I realized that I had underestimated the New England Native: the album was almost equal parts happy and sad, guilty but satisfied. And as I am about to return to my small town for the summer, leaving the life I have built and the friends I have made in college, there is no better time to review “The Great Divide.”
Now I haven’t watched the entirety of the Netflix documentary “Out of Body” yet, but from what TikTok tells me, it gives a lot of insight into Kahan’s family life: being the sibling to take the “risky” career, and what that has done to his relationships with his parents and his siblings. (As a girl studying theatre in college, I know it will hit home). As I sat to analyze the lyricism, one of Kahan’s greatest strengths, of the 21 tracks (I’ll be talking about “The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs” because the 4 bonus tracks dropped less than 24 hours after the original album) I was immediately struck by the contrasts of it to “Stick Season.” While his previous album sang of leaving a place, this one talked about being left in a place, and feeling like you are pulling someone back home; they are forever tied to the place. On this album Kahan continued his partnership with producer Gabe Simon, but also began to work with Aaron Dessner of The National, and collaborators of artists like Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams.
Kahan begins the album by painting a picture: the “End of August” in a familiar place. We did not all grow up with him in Vermont, but listeners make the connection to that place in their own hometowns. This is where Noah Kahan soars as an artist. He is relatable: to the youngest children who feel alone when their families move away, to the eldest ones who have to be strong enough to leave, and to everyone in between.Â
The highlights of the album for me were definitely “American Cars”, “Paid Time Off”, “Haircut”, “Dashboard”, and “A Few of Your Own.” Yes, that is a lot. And yes, I would have just listed the entire album if it was not for my word count. And if you have not listened to the album, you should know that a common theme of these is being the one who leaves this home, and has to come back. Having to bridge the divide that has grown between yourself and a place (and the people who reside there), even when you have all changed. But at the end of the day, as he sings in “A Few of Your Own”, we have to go on with life and make the stories for ourselves that we want to tell one day. As a generally nostalgic person: I am not okay, no. But that will be my motto for this summer, home from college, feet on the dashboard of my car, young and dumb on the edge of the world.Â