Noah Kahan Recons With Fame On “The Great Divide”
Noah Kahan’s fourth studio album, The Great Divide, came out on Friday, April 24th, following the great success of his claim to fame, Stick Season (2022). The album follows Kahan’s complicated journey between life before and after his steady rise to fame over the past few years. It also serves as a companion to the documentary “Out of Body,” which dropped in March 2026 on Netflix.
Stick Season collaborator Gabe Simon and The National’s Aaron Dessner co-produce the album. You can hear Dessner’s influence on the opener “End of August,” which sets the natural-whimsical tone for the album, and “Porch Light,” which is currently charting at number 72 on Billboard.
“I think Aaron was the perfect collaborator for this album, not only because he’s so talented and works with my favorite artists, but just because he’s really, really human, and he’s been through it all before,” Kahan told Deadline back in March when being interviewed at SXSW.
Kahan’s folk-rock style has evolved from the haziness and nostalgia of small-town Vermont life to a lighter and more energetic one. But Kahan is still introspective in his lyrics. Songs like ‘American Cars’, ‘Doors’, ‘Deny Deny Deny’, and the title track, “The Great Divide”, dive into the genre of Folk-rock.
Another song that is gaining traction is ‘Dashboard’, with people using it on TikTok and Instagram Reels for traveling montages. The song captures the elements of Kahan’s ‘Homesick’ by evoking the same feeling. In this case, it feels like the singer is anxiously moving forward.
In its whole, the album is navigating just that: anxiety and uncharted territory. It deals with the struggles and the changing tide that comes with fame and visibility, while still staying grounded.