“Sorry, this is turning into a therapy session,” quoted singer-songwriter Noah Kahan in a recent interview with Billboard, describing topics highlighted in his recent release “Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever).”
26-year-old indie-folk singer-songwriter Noah Kahan was brought into the spotlight briefly in 2019 with his hit song “False Confidence,” and recently grew to larger fame with his song “Stick Season,” which gained a great amount of traction on the social-media app TikTok. His third album “Stick Season” came out in the fall of 2022, and quickly grossed the charts, placing #3 on the Billboard Top 200 list soon after its release. Due to the success of the album, Kahan released a follow-up EP titled “Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)” in June of 2023. Kahan has a background in more pop-sounding music, just recently breaking into the folk scene. He recently started writing about the impacts that growing up in the small town of Stratford, Vermont has had on him. On his recent summer tour, Kahan played with the help of Noah Levine (guitar), Alex Bachari (bass), Dylan Jones (piano), and Marcos Valles (drums), each very talented musicians who bring lots of energy to his shows.
On the EP there are 7 extra songs added to the original 14, including an extended version of his hit song “The View Between Villages”. While Kahan is known for his tear-jerking ballads about love and loss, these songs beat all of his previous ones in that regard, tackling topics such as mental health, alcohol abuse, and unhealthy relationships in an incredibly vulnerable way. While all 7 songs are incredible additions to the already amazing album, my top 3 songs are “Your Needs, My Needs”, “Paul Revere”, and “No Complaints”.
YOUR NEEDS, MY NEEDS
“Your Needs, My Needs” addresses what seems to be a romantic relationship that Kahan was in where they grew apart and out of love. The line “you were a work of art, that’s the hardest part,” really captures this. Kahan describes this person as a work of art, or beautiful, but emphasizes the “was,” meaning that he doesn’t see them as that anymore. Later in the song, he adds to the line, writing, “I was a work of art, that’s the hardest part,” meaning that the relationship and even the person changed him for the worse, and he is no longer the person he was before. Based on some of the other lyrics featured in the song, the relationship seems to have ended because the love interest put their goals and desires over Kahan and eventually chose those over him.
PAUL REVERE
“Paul Revere” dives into topics that he has previously dabbled in and is largely known for about leaving his hometown of Stratford, Vermont. It opens with a description of his hometown, how it feels like he knows the ins and outs of it, and how it’s changed from when he was growing up there. Kahan then discusses his plans to leave and never return. The lyric “one day I’m gonna cut it clear, ride like Paul Revere, and when they ask me who I am, I’ll say I’m not from around here,” is a great example of this, claiming that he will leave the town one day and seemingly never return. By the end of the song, Kahan talks about how he can’t pursue these dreams of leaving in lines like “If I could leave, I would’ve already left.” He feels safe there and knows that that’s where he belongs.
NO COMPLAINTS
Kahan has previously released songs about what it is like living with depression, but “No Complaints” seems to be the most personal one yet. He talks about how he blames external sources for his mental health issues, such as his father, but he doesn’t feel that it is bad enough for him to speak out about it because he knows that others have it worse. The song also talks about coping with said depression, mainly through being medicated and going to therapy. “I filled the hole in my head with prescription medication and forgot how to cry. Who am I to complain?” is a line that tackles this head-on. Kahan then goes on to describe what effects being on medication had on him, such as making him emotionally numb, and overall making his mental health worse. This song is incredibly vulnerable and grapples with topics I think a lot of artists would be scared to release songs about.
“Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)” was an incredible addition to the original album. In my opinion, these songs were even harder-hitting and personal than any songs Kahan has previously released. I believe that everyone should listen to this album (including the original songs) at least once, even if it’s not your typical kind of music because the songs are so hard-hitting and emotional. Fans of The Lumineers and Zach Bryan would enjoy Kahan’s music because I find that they have a similar folk sound, though Kahan’s sound is more indie/pop influenced than the others. Kahan is currently on his summer tour and just recently played a sold-out show in St. Louis at Saint Louis Music Park. He is playing alongside artists Joy Oladokun and Ruston Kelly, two smaller pop artists. Kahan has been on tour for a large majority of 2023 and is heading to Europe and the UK to play a handful of shows in November, and just recently announced a 2024 tour, where he will be playing cities like St. Louis and in NYC at Madison Square Garden, which is a huge step for him. Listeners can find “Stick Season: (We’ll All Be Here Forever)” and his previous works on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
