October 31, 2022 by Lucia Birnby ’23
The first single and title track for Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” has had people in a fall mood since its release on July 8th. The remainder of the album, which was released on October 14th, met and exceeded listeners’ expectations, perfectly encapsulating that quintessential fall feeling.
Fueled by a deep sense of nostalgia, this album captures feelings of being sick of home, while simultaneously not wanting to leave it. This sentiment especially resonated with me, a senior in high school, currently grappling with the internal conflict of wanting to leave home but not necessarily feeling ready. Even if you can’t relate as heavily to the ideas that Kahan portrays throughout the album, his voice and lyricism are so emotional and descriptive that you feel immersed in every song.
“Homesick,” the 12th track on the album, perfectly exemplifies this. Unlike Kahan, I did not “grow up in New England,” but, as a Saratogian, I can relate to the idea of small-town communities that don’t change, which Kahan describes with the catchy line, “I’m mean because I grew up in New England”. This song is much more upbeat than some of the other tracks on the album, and while it does include themes of wanting to leave home, it feels more like an anthem to the roots that you have in the place you grew up in, and how you will always be a part of your hometown no matter where you go.
“Halloween,” the 11th track, brings melancholy to the discussion of moving away from home. Kahan describes the desire to leave and the haunting feeling of the locations and people that are connected to where you grew up. The lyrics, “I’m leavin’ this town and I’m changin’ my address/I know that you’ll come if you want/It’s not Halloween, but the ghost you’re dressed up as/Sure knows how to haunt” articulate this feeling in Kahan’s signature descriptive and emotional way. The title is also fitting to the time of Stick Season’s release and is perfect for listening to in preparation for October 31st.
On a more reflective note, “Strawberry Wine”, track 9, brings out the nostalgic aspect of the album. Lyrics like, “strawberry wine, and all the time we used to have/Those things I miss but know are never coming back” recall the feeling of lost youth and lost love. The last two minutes of the song are filled with soulful guitar and Kahan’s vocals, allowing the sentiment of the lyrics to really sink in while highlighting his instrumentalism.
The last track “The View Between Villages” is my current favorite. It truly ties every theme throughout the album together in one final song, starting quiet and crescendoing into an incredibly emotional piece that chronicles Kahan’s feelings while driving home. He references passing Alger Brook Road, a road in his hometown of Strafford, Vermont, and continues to build the crescendo while sharing memories. The lyrics, “the death of my dog, the stretch of my skin/ It’s all washin’ over me, I’m angry again/The things that I lost here, the people I knew” reminisce on adolescence and combine with a conflicting feeling of being trapped in your hometown, through the lyrics “they got me surrounded for a mile or two.” This is where the song–and the entire album–reaches its peak and finally dies down as Kahan sings, “I’m back between villages and everything’s still,” ending the album with about a minute of a decrescendo. If you listen closely, it sounds like wind blowing, and you can almost picture Kahan standing in silence, in a similar setting to the image on the album cover.
Stick Season is incredibly cohesive, with powerful themes that carry their way entirely through to the last track. Listening to it feels like someone is telling you one big intricate story, that wouldn’t make sense without each different part, that’s more powerful when treated as a whole. The complicated feelings surrounding home, and the nostalgia and growth that Kahan captures are universal, for New Yorkers and New Englanders alike.