After an incredible press circuit, a secret TikTok account, a “Tiny Desk concert” appearance, two single releases and a documentary, indie-folk-pop singer songwriter Noah Kahan released his fourth studio album, “The Great Divide” on April 24. From bashing Cybertrucks, to unlocking childhood memories we all felt were lost to time and feeling emotional about some guy named Dan, Kahan once again knows how to make us feel like we should be on antidepressants.
The album originally was released with 17 tracks before the deluxe version dropped; entitled “The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs” the deluxe contains 4 more tracks, rounding out the entire album to a long one hour and 36 minute run time.
Kahan, known for his superb storytelling abilities, warned his listeners that this album was going to set the tone for a super sad summer, urging us to make sure we all were mentally ready before listening. On “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” in response to being asked about the general vibe of the album and what people should prepare themselves for, he responded, “Oh uhm, it’s pretty sad, I don’t know, if something is going wrong in your life and its raining, I would avoid…” before being cut off by the roaring laugh of the studio audience. For anyone who has been a fan of his music, in particular his last album “Stick Season” then you should be incredibly aware that while he sugarcoats his interviews in sarcasm, statements like these are all too true.
His music provides catharsis while simultaneously shoving so much nostalgia into its listeners. For myself, I am not sure if it’s because he and I are the same age that he is so capable of making me feel like we lived the same childhood, or if it’s his extraordinary ability to capture his memories and channel them into an emotionally universal experience. Perhaps it’s both. Either way this album in particular takes a deeper dive into his childhood, sibling relationships, past friendships and people he once loved growing apart. “The Great Divide” somehow makes “Stick Season” seem like just the surface, despite how devastating and connecting those tracks also are to the fan base.
In this album Kahan brings the slap-happy twang instrumentals, possessing beats that make you want to stand up, stomp your feet and clap your hands, the kind of tunes you would strum along to and sing while hanging out around a campfire. He simultaneously pairs those sounds with his incredible lyricism where he has not only mastered rhyme but also the craft of saying a whole lot with very little. His songs pack emotional punch after punch in time with the strums of banjos and his acoustic guitar. Yo-yoing the listeners from his deepest darkest secrets to much wider universal qualms we can all relate to, even laugh through the tears about.
He evolves ideas that we heard in the last album, like “hating on the frat guys driving with their brights on” in “You’re Gonna Go Far” to hating on Cybertrucks in the line “If I see one more Cybertruck I swear to God I’m gonna floor it” in “Headed North.”
I think there is something to be said about Kahan’s ability to be so genuine, honest and sometimes, even, uncomfortably authentic, that captures the ears, souls and hearts of his fans. He tells us his truth and in that we are able to bond as a fanbase and feel the courage to be just as honest and raw with our own feelings, reflecting on our own journeys and relationships. That sort of vulnerability paired with his incredible musicality that encompasses and consumes us, is what I believe makes him, and now this album, so wildly successful.
Despite this album’s already monumental success, having climbed to the number one album worldwide, charting in the U.S. and UK, I think it’s important to note, for all the fellow bugs out there listening…If it wasn’t for the “View Between Villages” we may have never slowed down long enough to pay attention to “The Great Divide.”