It seems as though Noah Kahan is taking over Northeastern America. The singer-songwriter double threat has been on an unbelievable run with the three album folk-pop series, “Stick Season,” and it doesn’t seem like he has any plans to take his foot off the gas. Following a year culminating in a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, Kahan released the last deluxe rerelease of the “Stick Season” album last Friday, Feb. 9.
As the latest and final entry in the trilogy, “Stick Season (Forever)” includes the ‘new’ content, such as one brand new track, six previously released singles made up of featured artists on some of his more popular songs and two brand new features on “You’re Gonna Go Far” and “Paul Revere.” While the previous rerelease, “Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)” had more in the way of fresh content, “Stick Season (Forever)” brings the entirety of the album full circle in a neat 30-song package, clocking in with a two-hour duration on the nose.
In order to truly dive into this deluxe edition, it’s important to focus on the new and exciting things that it brings to the table. The only truly new piece we were treated with, “Forever,” is a slow and sentimental track — a mood featured in many of Kahan’s releases. Unsurprisingly, the song’s poignant lyrics and emotional delivery are strong and evoke a reminiscent feeling similar to the feeling brought out by his hit track “Northern Attitude.” Kahan alluded to the comparison in a tweet, stating mysteriously “The forever to northern attitude pipeline,” months before the song actually released.
The only other brand new content featured on the album consists of a Brandi Carlile feature on “You’re Gonna Go Far,” and a Gregory Alan Isakov feature on “Paul Revere.” Neither feature alters their respective song radically, but both add a raw new take on some really solid tracks from Kahan’s repertoire. Carlile brings some much appreciated harmonies to the tune, and Isakov adds a gravelly depth to “Paul Revere” that is well reflective of the lyrical matter. Overall, they’re two solid additions to the mass of folk-pop anthems Kahan has assembled in the “Stick Season” run.
In addition to the three previously mentioned recordings, Kahan gave six previously released singles official album releases. These tracks feature a myriad of pop stars such as Post Malone, Lizzy McAlpine and Hozier to name a few. The issue is, most of these tracks have been out for months already. They’ve already been circulating the radio channels and streaming charts, and there isn’t much more to say about them besides the fact that they put an interesting spin on some already fantastic songs. That isn’t to say that the new recordings aren’t great, just that it’s not abundantly clear why this warranted another deluxe rerelease rather than a delayed release on the first deluxe album.
When taken in all at once, “Stick Season (Forever)” is a two-hour epic containing some of Kahan’s most popular tracks from the last year. When put under a magnifying glass, it isn’t exactly obvious whether or not the three new tracks actually warranted a rerelease, but the content is appreciated either way. That being said, it’s difficult to grade something with such high peaks as anything less than a solid record.
Rating: 3/5 stars