On April 24 Noah Kahan finally released his fourth studio album, entitled “The Great Divide,” featuring 17 songs and over an hour of new music. Kahan began releasing select songs from the record at the beginning of this year, and his over 34 million monthly listeners on Spotify had been eagerly waiting for the full creation. Needless to say, Kahan delivered. His first extended release since 2022 is a true masterpiece, as he skillfully combines his signature vocals with a wide variety of song structures and styles.
The album kicks off with a stud of a song in “End of August,” where Kahan harmonizes with a unique backtrack to form an audibly beautiful track. Despite Kahan’s frequently sad lyrics and tempos, the rest of the album’s opening features more upbeat ones, with “Doors” and “American Cars” shining as singles. Both songs pair of stories in tremendous detail with upbeat tempos and catchy melodies that can make them standout songs for years to come. Throughout the rest of “The Great Divide,” quicker-moving songs continue to stick out, with truly awesome tracks like “Dashboard” and “Deny Deny Deny” fitting in perfectly.
Still, Kahan’s traditional song style is fairly represented. Slower songs with deep lyrics often pay homage to the rural north that he grew up in and complicated relationships in his life. Emotional weight and raw honesty are visibly expressed through Kahan’s vocals in songs like “Downfall,” “Willing and Able,” “23,” “Headed North” and “We Go Way Back,” something that defines the sentiment of the album. “Dan,” which closes out the record, is an especially emotional song as he reflects on his friendships and life as a whole while spending quality time with his best friend.
Two songs that Kahan released before the full compilation: “Porch Light” and the album song “The Great Divide” are unique bangers. Both tell meaningful stories with personal value, perfectly representing the intentional emotion Kahan aims to express in his music. In each song, Kahan finds a way to mix the pressure and isolation he has experienced with a wide variety of instruments to create music like no other.
Shortly after the original album dropped, Kahan released an extended version, entitled “The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs,” with four additional songs. “Staying Still” is the standout addition in this version, as his isolated vocals continue to shine. Highly anticipated due to its partial release on social media, the song mixes Kahan’s hometown nostalgia with pure emotion and a continuous fear of change.
In sum, “The Great Divide” is unlike anything Noah Kahan has released before, and we are grateful for it. A combination of so many styles and unique aspects, this album is a must-listen. Kahan is currently on tour and resumes live shows in mid-June, with over 50 sold-out shows remaining this year alone. He will play locally at Nats Park on July 22, where tickets cost over $400 just to get into the sold-out event.
