Review
In 'Stick Season (We'll All Be Here Forever)', Noah Kahan expands his folk storytelling canvas with earthy brushstrokes of New England life. His voice carries the weight of small towns where everyone knows your name and your secrets, too. The acoustic textures feel worn and genuine like an old family cabin, while his lyrics capture that peculiar tension between hometown devotion and desperate escape. Through songs about isolation and self-examination, Kahan transforms the specific geography of rural New England into emotional territories we all recognize, regardless of where we're from.
The wry, confessional tone of 'Dial Drunk' stands alongside the atmospheric depth of 'The View Between Villages (Extended)' to showcase Kahan's evolution as a storyteller. His melodies serve as vessels for catharsis, creating folk anthems that feel simultaneously intimate and expansive. This 2023 expansion builds thoughtfully upon the minimalist foundations of his earlier work, yet the arrangements now breathe more fully, reflecting his journey from regional songwriter to mainstage performer. His music exists in that tender space between nostalgic comfort and unflinching self-awareness.
Kahan has crafted a compelling chronicle of rural American experience without romanticizing or condemning it. His characters drink too much, love too hard, and dream of highways out while secretly fearing what lies beyond familiar boundaries. The album's emotional honesty converts personal demons into shared experiences, making listeners feel less alone in their contradictions. As Kahan's musical world grows, he maintains that crucial element of authenticity – like a painter who travels the world but returns home to capture the particular quality of light that falls across New England's fading autumn landscape. - Maeve
