It takes a remarkable artist to open an album with a few piano notes and make it sound like a memory. Noah Kahan’s “End of August” does just that, and he continues a theme of nostalgia throughout “The Great Divide.”
Since a cryptic TikTok account began teasing it, Kahan’s fans have known that his new album would keep up the standard he’s set since his first single — and they were right. Kahan has a reputation for folk-pop songs that simultaneously make you want to cry in the rain and scream the lyrics on a summer drive, and his new record only cements this.
The first single released, titled “The Great Divide,” explores themes of emotional separation, yearning, and loss. Kahan explains how losing someone is a slow process, and even the people you feel most connected with can slip away.
“From a long silence forms a divide, a great expanse demanding attention. I stare across it. I see old friends, my father, my mother, my siblings, my younger self, the great state of Vermont,” Kahan said in his Instagram post announcing the album on Jan. 28.
This statement encapsulates the entire album. The emotions expressed in the songs are the ones that you always feel beneath the surface, but not strongly enough to act on, so you just keep hurting while the other person lives their life.
One of the most popular tracks pre-release was “Doors,” known for its painfully relatable lyrics and a tune that’s somehow resentful.
“Have you ever stared directly at the sun? Have you ever shared some closeness so exposed to have it spit back by someone?” Kahan asks in the second verse.
Most songs seem to be about romantic relationships, but Kahan also covers family, because wrecking all of our mental states in one facet of life just wasn’t enough. In “Willing and Able,” Kahan describes how even when you want to be close with someone and theoretically could do it, sometimes the relationship just doesn’t develop.
“I wish you could know me, and I wish I could know you much more sometimes, wish I could do nothing with you,” Kahan sings.
This song hits especially hard for long-distance relationships, and highlights the importance of spending time with the people you love and putting effort into keeping those connections alive.
Kahan also covers successful friendships and how much of an impact those have on our lives. Having people you can rely on is one of the most important things during big changes, and Kahan expresses that in “Dan.”
“Most of the time, we don’t have anyone. Where do we go when we die? I wouldn’t mind right here, I wouldn’t mind at all,” Kahan sings.
“Dan” is essentially the opposite of “Willing and Able” opposite, depicting a relationship that is always there for you and is more of a home than any place is.
“The Great Divide” is definitely worth a listen (or 500) for its lyrical expression of growing up and the loss and gain of bonds.
