Restlessness and belonging: review of Noah Kahan’s Stick Season

Noah Kahan’s musical work revolves greatly around finding a sense of place, whether this be in regards to identity, relationships or home. Kahan’s lyrics recently have grappled with the central idea of locations in both his EP Cape Elizabeth and his newest album Stick Season. Cape Elizabeth was produced at the start of the pandemic, a time when most were stuck at home with loved ones. Essential to the success of his music was how the listener grows closer to the artist by the divulging of details from his private life in both Cape Elizabeth and Stick Season. This is amplified by using the names of locations in New England, particularly personal to Kahan as his place of birth.

While Stick Season conjures feelings of being left behind after the breakup of a relationship, the way Kahan explores this is through place and belonging, and what “home” is. Stick Season captures the sense of being trapped at home but simultaneously not wanting to leave the place that you know so well. As a student who recently moved away from my hometown in the countryside, I identify a great deal with this aspect. Hence, the new album is very sentimental to those who are living away from the place they grew up, whether that be for university or a career opportunity. Kahan’s work is identifiable as a comfort for many young people learning about themselves and where they find “home” in a time of great identity-related turbulence.

We understand the restlessness innate to Kahan’s experience in his hometown

One aspect of the album that I would criticize, however, and the reason it took me so many listens to truly love the work, is that the musicality of the songs remains the same throughout the album. While some reviews praise this as Kahan remains loyal to his musical roots, and others remark that it is impressive that he can accomplish so much with minimal instrumentation, I find that the feeling of constantly waiting for something to happen is unsatisfying. Artistically, this is genius – it means we understand the restlessness innate to Kahan’s experience in his hometown, particularly through the consistency of the acoustic guitar appearing in each song. But, it is equally painstaking when listening to the album as a whole. I find that I have to make sure that the songs from Stick Season are far away from one another in my playlists, otherwise I grow frustrated and impatient. There are often times when I listen to Stick Season’s songs and imagine the points at which other instrumentation could have been incorporated or where a beat drop could have been added. But, I understand that this is not Kahan’s style.

Kahan has emphasised what it means to feel lonely

Other consistent aspects of Kahan’s works have a far more positive impact on listeners. For example, through exploring the concept of place and identity, Kahan successfully evokes feelings of contemplation around world crisis in his listeners. In Cape Elizabeth’s ‘A Troubled Mind’, he wrote, “I worry for the sun, yes, I worry for the snow”, reminding listeners of the climate crisis. While in ‘Stick Season’ Kahan sings “Doc told me to travel, but there’s COVID on the planes”. Referencing a pandemic that is so recent induces anxiety for listeners, and yet paired with the anxiety-remedy that is the theme of travelling this is ironic. The public are used to hearing these juxtapositions as advice from governments and so for Kahan to do the same is humorous.

Another trait shared in Kahan’s songs, and even across albums, is the fear surrounding growing up. In ‘A Troubled Mind’, he wrote “I worry I’ll die young while I worry I’ll grow old” and in his new album he reflects he is “Scared to live / Scared to die”. This reflects the significant over-cautiousness seen in young people today. In particular, through the autumnal theme of the album, Kahan explores seasonal depression. This sense of mood being impacted by the weather appears again in the line “Forgive my northern attitude / Oh, I was raised out in the cold”. However, this latter line suggests that we must embrace both the places we come from, as well as the aspects of ourselves that may appear less personable to others – they may be essential to our sense of self.

Through the lines discussed previously, Kahan has emphasised what it means to feel lonely, but the line “Everything’s alright when she calls me back, she calls me back” talks about the aspects of life, and particularly people, that we find reassurance in and which ease our anxieties. The song which these lines come from, ‘She Calls Me Back’, represents a breath from the melancholy tone of the rest of the album. This is also a twist on the lyric “You once called me ‘forever’, now you still can’t call me back” from ‘Stick Season’, a further indication to Kahan’s loneliness.

The songs from Stick Season successfully illustrate the conflicting emotions of feeling trapped, with or without the freedom to leave one’s home and the “sickness” that is felt due to loneliness, and an uncertain sense of identity.

★★★★

Recommended listening: ‘She Calls Me Back’