![]() In “Halloween,” Kahan sings about “The ash of the home that I started the fire in,” and still being followed by “the ghost you’re dressed up as.” Then, in a much more upbeat “Homesick,” Kahan laments small-town communities that don’t change. The album also touches on the desire to leave one’s home - while still being haunted by the location and the people connected to it. “Orange Juice” specifically captures the painful struggle of a friend’s alcoholism in a heartbreakingly beautiful song. ![]() In the second verse he writes that he forgets his medication and drives on an empty engine, but that “there are worse ways to stay alive.” These “worse ways” are alluded to with Kahan’s frequent references to alcoholism throughout the album. In the second verse of “Stick Season,” Kahan sings, “So I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad, that I could cancel out the darkness I inherited from dad.” Kahan highlights his experience in therapy in the song “Growing Sideways” opening with “So I took my medication, and I poured my trauma out.” Kahan also talks about the struggles of relapse in mental health recovery in the same song. In addition to seasonal New England nostalgia, mental health is a deep theme within the album. The intimate inclusion of these vague - yet powerful - lyrics strengthens “Come Over.” Someday I'm gonna be somebody people want.” Kahan reveals small details about his family life, such as their “sad house,” while expressing the overarching desire to be wanted. ![]() My dad'll strike it rich, we'll be the big house on the block. Oh, you don't have to tell the other kids at school. The bridge of this song will continue to repeat through my mind as Kahan describes the feeling of inviting a stranger into his space: “I know that it ain't much, I know that it ain't cool. “Come Over” is my current favorite on the album because it gives a similar high-school reminiscent feeling, while beautifully addressing the fear of financial insecurity. Those things I miss but know are never coming back.” Kahan’s masterful instrumentalism is highlighted with “Strawberry Wine” as the last two minutes are filled with melodic instrumental guitar and Kahan vocalizing and whistling. “Strawberry Wine” continues the feeling of lost youth and lost love with lyrics, “Strawberry wine, and all the time we used to have. There ain't a drop of bad blood.” This upbeat song makes my heart ache as Kahan reminisces about former relationships that are still filled with love. “All My Love” is a beautiful song that references a past love, as Kahan sings “Now I know your name, but not who you are. In addition to the sense of place, Kahan also draws on a deep sense of nostalgia for the people of his adolescence throughout the album. Lyrics throughout the album remind me how much I have grown here and how Hanover will always be part of where I grew up. Even as a relatively new Hanover resident, the connection to this town felt incredibly resonant. Then, in “New Perspective,” Kahan describes “the intersection got a Target and they’re calling it downtown,” which reminds me of the Target in West Lebanon that opened recently. In “Come Over,” Kahan sings about “a sad house on Balch street,” possibly referencing the street in Hanover. The connections to Hanover continue throughout the album. The lyrics “I love Vermont,” and “I’ll dream each night of some version of you,” immediately caused me to reminisce about autumn in Hanover. Stick Season immediately became a Dartmouth anthem for me, despite being extremely far from Hanover at the time. The first two tracks on the album, “Northern Attitude” and “Stick Season,” were released before the rest of the album and gained widespread popularity on TikTok: “Stick Season” was released first on July 8 with “Northern Attitude” coming out on Sept. Kahan further highlights the transition from quarantine to semi-normal life as “Stick Season” touches upon the inability to leave home because of “COVID on the planes.” And it's super depressing.” Mimicking this bleak time of the year, the album is full of transitions surrounding leaving home, growing up and getting help for mental health. Kahan said in an interview with Insider that stick season is “the time between peak foliage and Halloween and the first snow - when all the leaves are off the trees. Whether a New England native or someone who has never visited, Kahan has created widespread nostalgia for the region through the album. For the Dartmouth community, this album is already a community treasure: Kahan graduated from Hanover High School and draws on his upbringings in Strafford, Vt. 14, perfectly embodies the transitional period between fall and winter in New England - something Dartmouth students are all too familiar with. Yet, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season,” released on Oct. Growing up in a desert city, I never thought that I would be so deeply connected to an album written about a small town in Vermont.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |