Gabriella Tolve ‘23
After a year of internet buzz surrounding Noah Kahan’s single “Stick Season,” the folk-pop singer finally released the full Stick Season album.
On October 14, 2022, Noah Kahan released his third album. The fourteen-song project dives into feelings of trauma and nostalgia. From love ballads like “Strawberry Wine” to more upbeat songs like “She Calls Me Back,” Noah Kahan allows the listener to feel connected to Noah’s own life experiences.
When Noah Kahan first released a demo version of his song “Stick Season” on his TikTok platform in October 2020, his viewers loved it. When the general public was exposed to the final version of the song, that’s when things really began to take a turn for the album. The bigger the song got, the more listeners wanted an album jam-packed with songs of a similar aesthetic.
Noah’s slightly pop approach to folk music, ingenious songwriting, and raw vocals give the album exactly what it needs to live up to its titular lead single. Tracks like ”Growing Sideways” have the honesty that a lot of mainstream music lacks. Both “Stick Season” and “Growing Sideways” discuss Kahan’s mental health issues and fractured family and relationship dynamics.
A common theme of the album is homesickness. Many songs such as “The View Between Villages” and “New Perspective” follow the ironic narrative of being sick of home and wanting to abandon that place all while missing the place where he grew up.
Personally, I loved this album. Noah Kahan’s honesty and rawness really cemented the album for me. Kahan puts his life and trauma on display for listeners through this album. I think we could use a lot more of this raw openness in the music industry. Many artists are afraid to voice their most intrusive thoughts or to expose their deepest traumas. Noah Kahan, however, spoils us with a fourteen-song record of this exact introspectiveness we crave.
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