By ABBY BRAVO, News Editor
Noah Kahan’s third studio album “Stick Season,” released on Oct. 14, explores the nostalgia of growing out of your hometown and visiting after leaving it behind, as well as an ode to young love.
The feeling of barely recognizing your hometown and the people in it, but still feeling so deeply connected to it is a level of heartache that many can relate to, which makes “Stick Season” a bittersweet listen.
The album opens with the song “Northern Attitude,” which Kahan stated was his favorite off the album in a TikTok video teasing the song and album.
The song is reminiscent of a childhood in the Northeast, particularly Vermont, where Kahan grew up. He sings of his childhood as almost a burden as he sings the lyrics, “If I get too close/And I’m not how you hoped/Forgive my northern attitude/Oh, I was raised out in the cold.”
This same feeling can be seen later in the album in the song “Homesick,” which is ironically about being sick of your home, as well as in “Halloween,” where he shows utter disdain for his hometown. He sings, “Well, I’m leavin’ this town and I’m changin’ my address/I know that you’ll come if you want/And it’s not Halloween but the ghost you’re dressed up as/Sure knows how to haunt, yes, it knows how to haunt.”
The second song is the title track, “Stick Season.” This song arguably started it all as the album was inspired by Kahan having to go back to his hometown from New York City after the pandemic started.
This is directly mentioned in the lyrics, “Doc told me to travel, but there’s COVID on the planes/And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks and I/Saw your mom she forgot that I existed and/It’s half my fault, but I just like to play the victim.”
Throughout the album Kahan goes through the battle of loving where you grew up and feeling resentment towards the changes being made. This mood can also be seen on the sixth track, “New Perspective,” where Kahan sings to a loved one who has changed after moving away while also realizing the changes that have been made to where he grew up.
Following the title track is “All My Love,” which is clearly Kahan reminiscing about a past love and his lack of resentment which can be seen in many songs.
Following is one of my personal favorites, “She Calls Me Back.” This song has a very upbeat sound that is insanely catchy, but also lyrics that make your heart ache. The lyrics, “There was Heaven in your eyes/I was not baptized” and “I’ll love you when the ocean’s dry/I’ll love you when the rivers freeze” pulled on a heartstring I didn’t even know I had.
Next is a song that puts a rock in your stomach after such a warm and loving song. “Come Over” is a ballad where Kahan feels stuck where he is. The lyrics, “Don’t you know there’s a coffin buried under the garden/It was there when we got here, it’ll be there when we leave,” are so heart wrenching and cannot even do the song as a whole justice.
Yearning for old love and the familiarity of a hometown are combined in “Everywhere/Everything.” The lyrics, “drive slowly, I know every route in this county/Maybe that ain’t such a bad thing/I’ll tell where not to speed,” capture an acceptance of a hometown and how, no matter how much you change or how long you’re gone, the roads you knew will always be there.
Another set of lyrics, which have also been circulating on TikTok, are “I wanna love you ’til we’re food for the worms to eat/’Til our fingers decompose/Keep my hands in yours,” show exactly how it feels to experience real love.
Fast-forwarding to the tenth song, “Growing Sideways” is where Kahan expresses his concerns, as well as being aloof, about being stuck and not living up to his full potential. Kahan shows both sides in the lyrics, “I’m terrified that I might never have met me” and “And if all my life was wasted/I don’t mind, I’ll watch it go/Yeah, it’s better to die numb/Than feel it all.” Hearing these hit home for me as I feel like I suffer with both of these thoughts often.
Many of the songs on this album feel almost Hozier-esque with their tones, topics, and the feeling of missing something but not being able to tell what exactly it is.
This album is best served with your hot drink of choice and a tissue box. So, if you are looking to uncover emotions and a strange longing for rural Vermont that you didn’t know you even had, give “Stick Season” a listen, and really listen.
