Noah Kahan released his fourth studio album on April 24., The Great Divide. The album featured 17 tracks, with Kahan dropping another 4 tracks later that night in the drop of the released album, The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs.
The album followed Kahan’s folk music roots, with natural and raw melodies combined with Kahan’s authentic musical voice. Each track covers a different emotional storyline, leaving each song with its own unique taste.
The album starts with End of August, a laid back piece, beginning mainly in instrumentals. The song uses changing seasons to signify how quickly life changes and the bittersweet nostalgia that comes with. Further, the track covers his deeper emotions towards the feeling that his small hometown is slowly fleeting away from him, as he moves onto new things.
The sixth track, The Great Divide, was released previously on January 30th. This track does a phenomenal job summarizing the overarching message of the album, the pain that comes with sudden success, leading to a drift from a comfortable reality. The song provides a close look at the effects of distance and growing apart as relationships fade away through time.
Deny, Deny, Deny is one of the most honest tracks through the whole album. The once again covers the theme of conflict and falling apart relationships, but takes a deeper look into the true effects this has. Kahan explores the ideas of accountability and action, against continued loyalty.
The final track, Dan, is a long, but moving and sentimental piece. Shifting tone from many of the previous tracks, Dan is a testament to the power of long lasting relationships and shared vulnerability. The track feels uplifting compared to the rest of the album and offers a sense of longed-for hope to finish the album.
In all, the album is a continuation of many of Kahan’s past themes throughout his albums, such as distance and internal conflict of his fame. Still, the album adds new insights to these themes, such as the ideas of deep emotional loss, the morality within conflict, and the persisting power of connections. While the melodies are not particularly extravagant or bold for Kahan, they create a sense of comfort and sensitivity that deepens the impact of the album’s message.
