The Rise of Noah Kahan

Welcome back Jammers!! It’s been a while. Life is crazy, things have been happening, and changes are coming. All things that I will update you very soon. I haven’t had much motivation, or inspiration, to write for a while. That is, until I took a deep dive into Noah Kahan after seeing collabs with Zach Bryan and Hozier. His album Stick Season really hit home for me in many ways that I will get into. But, I do need to preface this blog by saying I’M SO SORRY FOR SLEEPING ON NOAH KAHAN. I have no idea how I didn’t give him the credit he deserves after I heard “Hurt Somebody” in, like… 2017. 

“Hurt Somebody” was the first song of his that took off, especially on the alternative radio stations (shoutout Sirius XM Alt Nation channel 36). First time listening to this song first, it was giving Shawn Mendes-ish vibes, dare I say. It’s very pop-sounding, but also emphasized through this banjo cords. “Cuz it hurts when you hurt somebody” is a pretty basic but catchy chorus. Hey, it was his first big hit and it definitely got stuck in heads for those that were heavy folk rock fans at the time. 

When I first gave Stick Season a full listen, I was instantly drawn in. For those of you that know me well, you know that Mumford & Sons was my gospel at one point in my life. This record brought back the nostalgic love I had in the 2010s for folk and indie rock. Noah touches on things we all experience: waiting for friends to come home for Christmas, hoping a girl will call you back, or feeling like you don’t belong in the adult world. 

The first song “Northern Attitude” almost felt like a Mumford song with the opening banjo; the solo vocals with single guitar cords leading into a much more powerful punch with the chorus sent chills down my spine, which is rare for me and my music-critic brain! The verse “If I get too close, and I’m not how you hoped, forgive my northern attitude, oh I was raised out in the cold” resonated with me two-fold. I was raised in Montana where it’s much too cold for too long; but also, the cold, “northern” attitude felt like anyone could relate. If you aren’t outgoing or outwardly expressive, you’re portrayed as mean or “cold.” He’s touching on his upbringing and relating it to personality.

Which brings me to my favorite song on this record, “Homesick.” Aside from the fantastic composition of this song, the lyrics struck a chord within me. He toys with the term homesick. On one hand, he’s sick of home: “Well I’m tired of dirt roads, named after high school friends’ grandfathers” following with “time moves so damn slow I feel my organs failing.” Staying in his small hometown in Vermont is suffocating and making him feel stuck. He then sings “I got dreams, but I can’t make myself believe them” and “I will die in the house that I grew up in, I’m homesick.” He’s grappling with this idea of wanting to pursue dreams outside of his hometown, but still feeling homesick about it. I think this is so relatable, especially to people in their 20s. This song felt like it was written for me; I feel stuck in my hometown and can’t wait to get out, but that feeling of homesickness will always be there no matter where you go!

The track “She Calls Me Back” is a close second for me. This song is much more upbeat, and about something much different- a girl! The beat string throughout this track is danceable while maintaining the indie feel. The change in cords when the verse goes “There was heaven in your eyes” just makes everything feel happy and joyful. If you’re not much of an indie rock listener, I would suggest giving this song a listen if none else. He says “Everything’s alright when she calls me back” when the beat gets much more jovial and upbeat, which is a direct correlation to the feeling when someone calls you back that you’ve been waiting to hear from. 

Now, the song “Dial Drunk” blew up on Tik Tok, but for good reason! It has a bit of a country feel to it (which we all know how Al feels about that), but I do really like this song. I think this track really shows Noah’s songwriting skills. The lyrics are so relatable and so catchy, it reminds me a bit of, dare I say, Taylor Swift? So many songs have one or the other, good lyrics OR a good sound, but in my personal opinion, it’s hard to have both. This song has both. He tells a story with this song about being “young, drunk and alone” going to jail from a bar fight. “I gave your name as my emergency phone call” or “Honey, it rang and rang, even the cops thought you were wrong for hanging up” is using the hyperbole of going to jail to compare the feelings of an old relationship. When you’re at your lowest, and someone you were so close to won’t even help. Anyone that’s gone through a breakup can relate to this song. AND Post Malone helped write this song, which I wish I could have seen them perform this together!!

We’ll finish with “Stick Season” because it is really just a great song. “And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks and I saw your mom she forgot I existed” just reminded me of coming home from college for the holidays when you were either excited or dreaded seeing certain people from high school. This is more obvious in the line “I’ll drink alcohol til my friends come home for Christmas.” It’s just a very nostalgic song. Noah is in his mid-twenties like me, and I just feel like he sings exactly how I used to feel during these times waiting to see my best friends from home (minus the alcohol part, but you get the idea). The line “And I’m split in half, but that’ll have to do” brings us back to his division of loving and hating home. 

Some honorable mentions: “The View Between Villages” and “All My Love” 

Again, jammers, I’m ashamed it took me this long to truly discover Noah Kahan’s music. I feel like indie rock has somewhat fallen off since Mumford (except for Hozier, I will always love him) and I think his famous collaborations with Posty, Hozier and Zach Bryan has really helped bring one of my favorite genres back. Lastly, he has a lyric that goes “Doc told me to travel but there’s COVID on the planes” and we will all appreciate that in 20 years.