During the pandemic, Noah Kahan broke the charts with his album, Stick Season. It debuted at number fourteen on the Billboard 200 and helped him earn his first Grammy as Best New Artist. He gained commercial success, appearing on Saturday Night Live, and even having a documentary made about him this year. What made this avant-folk songwriter so alluring to many was the effortless blend of his intricate lyricism and the melancholic melodies of his acoustic guitar. His breakout album reached a wider audience beyond his hometown of New England; this year, the country was introduced to his highly anticipated first album following his rise to success, The Great Divide.
Before listening to The Great Divide, I decided to listen to Stick Season first. Despite its immense success, I deem it to be a weaker album than The Great Divide. Stick Season gave me what I expected: a serene, emotional environment, yet one tainted by repetitive instrumentation and folk-pop tropes. As an album experience, Stick Season gives in to the plague of repetition. Many of the songs sound so similar when played back-to-back that they lose the album's substance. The Great Divide was a slight improvement over this problem, achieving more emotional intensity and maturity in the songwriting.
Indeed, many artists have evocative songwriting skills and enticing use of instruments, so what made Kahan such a beloved star among the rest? Kahan, with great expertise, knows how to play with words and mellow instrumentals to curate a cozy ambiance of melancholy, nostalgia, and tranquility. No matter how you feel about Kahan, you can’t resist his soothing vocals. The Great Divide shows that Kahan has grown as an artist; though he might not be genre-bending, he has improved his craft. The Great Divide is a relatable album for many, and his raw, authentic talent is what makes him a respectable artist.
The Great Divide exhibits stories and anthems of Kahan’s struggle with fame, vices, and the human experience. Songs like “We Go Way Back” croon about running from one’s problems and focus on the past, while the groovy “Doors” directly address the motif of division, which recurs throughout the album in relationships. In each song, Kahan boldly opens up about his vulnerability and tries to connect the listener with his folk intimacy. “Dashboard” is another profound song about the world never stopping for you and about how “everyone just moves on,” even as you feel overwhelmed. Kahan talks about how he tries to run away, “changing zip codes,” and “crossing states,” but still feels trapped. Each song hints at problems and notions that are relatable—to a degree—to anyone, and that’s what makes The Great Divide a good album.
Noah Kahan, as a commercially successful artist, exists in a space where many artists seem to give in to the mainstream facade: songs become shorter and more accessible; artists start focusing on the charts and getting their songs on the radio; and the crafting of music loses its identity, becoming formulaic. Kahan’s latest album has not been plagued by this subtle affliction that ruins most top-charting artists. An example of his authenticity is that most of his songs are over four minutes long, which I think serves as an implicit objection to the mainstream space's many “short-form” songs. The Great Divide’s subtle gestures like the length show Kahan’s passion and genius in his music, not his pursuit of a hit single.
Yet this project is not nothing without its flaws. For 76 minutes, the record gets excessively repetitive. Though it's a step better than Stick Season, The Great Divide does not stand out from the general music industry. There are many great artists, like Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens, who can make introspective work, some of whom arguably execute a folk album better than Noah Kahan. The production on the album feels monotonous, hindering Kahan’s vocals from truly excelling. The Great Divide includes many great songs, but as an album, the seventeen tracks seem to merge into redundant instrumentals and lose their sense of individuality; even the most emotional songs lose their individuality. For such a large album, The Great Divide lacks versatility. It almost seems that Kahan focuses more on specific tracks than on the album's story itself. However, these flaws merely detract from the album’s ability to rise above “good.” Thus, The Great Divide is a good listen, and it is praiseworthy for the way Kahan prioritizes intimacy with his listeners.