Noah Kahan released the last piece of his Stick Season collection, titled Forever, on Feb. 8. This part of the collection included two new collaborations, “Paul Revere” with Gregory Alan Isakov and “You’re Gonna Go Far” with Brandi Carlile, along with one new song, “Forever.” This brings the number of songs in the collection to 30, with eight collaborations. These features are the highlights of the album, showcasing many household names as well as artists who aren’t as prominent in the public atmosphere.
The newest addition to the original songs is “Forever,” which begins with a vivid description of a scene in which Kahan is in a car with a lover, before recollecting a time when he was younger and much more pessimistic about the world. In that time, Kahan believed eternity to be horrible because he feared that he would never mean anything. Kahan ultimately ends the first verse in a new light, being optimistic about the future and wanting to see forever due to his new love. Kahan consistently uses striking imagery in his songs to draw in the audience. In tandem with this, he navigates the rise and fall of the music incredibly, beginning with an extremely slow yet beautiful composition, reflecting on his younger years, making it all the more satisfying as he converts into his usual folk style after the first chorus. The song successfully conveys the complexities about feeling unloved, along with the beauties of true, realistic love. Kahan reflects on embarrassing memories in which he realizes the hilarities in the complexities of love as he navigates into the second verse. “Forever” serves as the culmination of the entire collection, not feeling like just one song, but a combination of the experience that Kahan has learned in the creation of Stick Season. “Forever” is a song for everyone – those who feel unambitious so they may know that there is a light on the other side, as well as those who feel motivated and loved, recollecting on their own experiences through the lens of the song.
Many fans of Kahan may have never heard of Isakov before their collaboration, but he is an incredible artist with music similar to Kahan, and Kahan cites him as one of his inspirations in songwriting, and their collaboration showcases the expansive talents of both. There is no understating how well the two blend together; the harmonies within “Paul Revere” fit the voices of Isakov and Kahan perfectly, highlighting both the similarities and differences in their voices. Oftentimes, when artists do collaborations with other vocalists, they tend to always give fewer lines and the backing harmony to the person they’re collaborating with, but Kahan consistently breaks this mold. Within the “Paul Revere” collaboration, there is no main singer, but a truly equal distribution of the lyrics and harmonies, which helps the song feel more cohesive and necessary. It isn’t just Kahan singing the whole song with Isakov taking a backseat, it is Isakov and Kahan being featured together. It seems like many singers release songs with other artists just so they can release the song again, win more awards, climb higher on the charts and remain in the public sphere a little longer. On the other hand, Kahan unites with another artist to make a completely new listening experience.
This unique experience does not end with Isakov and Kahan’s “Paul Revere.” “You’re Gonna Go Far” with Carlile revolutionized the song, including new harmonies which made the song exceptional. “You’re Gonna Go Far” was always one of my favorite songs by Kahan, but this rendition is made sensational by the inclusion of Carlile’s soprano voice. Kahan’s songs always sound much more mellow due to his lower voice, but embracing the beauty of Carlile’s voice takes the song to a whole new level. This is especially evident in the second verse when Carlile is singing solo. She sings the verse differently than Kahan in the original, but that makes the song even better because it doesn’t feel like we’re listening to Kahan singing the same song. It feels fresh and new. The addition of these collaborations with other artists not only makes the new songs themselves feel fresh but also the original rendition feels new every single time fans listen to it.
Noah Kahan has been in the spotlight for the last year for good reason, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Kahan himself is currently sitting at #1 on the Billboard Top Artists. Stick Season is currently sitting at #3 on the Billboard Hot 200 as of Feb. 21. “Stick Season” is the highest song on the Billboard Hot 100 at #10, with “Forever” and “Northern Attitude” trailing at #28 and #75 respectively. Critics are united in the belief that “Forever” fully completes the Stick Season collection and does so perfectly. While it has taken “Forever” for Kahan to finish the collection, it still has “All My Love” and has given everyone a “New Perspective” on Kahan’s music.
