Noah Kahan, 鈥淪tick Season鈥� (Mercury Records/Republic Records)
It鈥檚 the season of the sticks. It has been since July 8, when Noah Kahan released the first single and title track from his third album, 鈥淪tick Season.鈥�
A cascade of controlled reflections on a changing relationship, the track sees Kahan liken his emotions to a pre-winter Vermont 鈥� when leaves have fallen but snow hasn鈥檛 settled, leaving tree branches just sticks. The lyrics are precise 鈥� 鈥淚鈥檒l dream each night of some version of you / That I might not have but I did not lose鈥� 鈥� and emotive 鈥� 鈥淥nce called me forever now you still can鈥檛 call me back鈥� 鈥� marrying honesty and relatability with ease.
Clips Kahan posted of the song on TikTok earned millions of views and covers he shared earned hundreds of thousands more, a testament to the accessibility of his words as listeners adapted them to their own stories or continued his. And while we鈥檙e not really there yet 鈥� in stick season, that is 鈥� the track foreshadows more than a time of year. It made clear that Kahan, an experienced songwriter and performer with multiple tours behind him, would take his lyricism to the next level on the album.
There鈥檚 a newfound maturity in his tone, a musical confidence that shines as he explores his vulnerabilities and doubts while exhibiting his growth.
Kahan鈥檚 relationship with his New England upbringing inspires the content and sound. That鈥檚 immediately clear on the album opener 鈥淣orthern Attitude,鈥� an unapologetic ode to the region featuring a plucked riff that builds to a rousing, layered composition. The same idea emerges even stronger on the thumping 鈥淗omesick,鈥� where he belts with pride: 鈥淚鈥檓 mean because I grew up in New England,鈥� and on the softer, almost conversational 鈥淪till.鈥�
鈥淪he Calls Me Back鈥� stands out, maybe because you can almost hear a smile emerge as he sings, a break from an otherwise mostly melancholy album. The chorus is almost too good to spoil.
Kahan鈥檚 vulnerability is centered on 鈥淥range Juice,鈥� about a friend鈥檚 sobriety, and 鈥淕rowing Sideways,鈥� about his own mental health journey. The stories these songs tell make it clear that Kahan 鈥� always a friend of folk 鈥� is fully at home in the genre.
On the pleading ballad 鈥淐ome Over,鈥� he whispers: 鈥淪omeday I鈥檓 gonna be / somebody people want.鈥�
There's irony there because these feel like songs both longtime listeners and newer fans will want to belt back to Kahan 鈥� not because they鈥檙e produced for stadiums or arenas, but because they鈥檙e full of nostalgic melodies that will resonate far beyond New England.
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Elise Ryan, The Associated Press
