By Molly Miller and Natalie Gilkinson · Contributing Writers
After years of waiting, the king of modern folk and New English mental anguish has finally blessed the world with a new single and the promise of more music to come. After a four-year hiatus since releasing his album “Stick Season” in 2022, Kahan played his latest single “The Great Divide” at several concerts in 2024 and 2025 and, after months of suspense built up on social media, officially released it on Jan. 30.
It explores themes of childhood trauma and broken relationships across time, or in other words, “the great divide.” Additionally, the title refers to the gap between his release of “Stick Season” and the new single as well as how his relationships have changed since his ascent of the charts.
In the song, Kahan sings about the way he missed the struggles that one of his past friends faced and how he can see now how much he failed to recognize them then. The accompanying music video cinematically portrays the story of his friendship from childhood into adulthood and, thankfully, ends with a hopeful note of reconciliation as Kahan himself steps in to give his friend a much-needed hug.
The song has the added bonus of being musically and lyrically engaging. Kahan has the uncanny ability to write lyrics that are both quietly devastating and equally forceful. They’re designed to be screamed in the face of a snowstorm.
The musical arrangement of the song bears the handwriting of several Kahan songs that came before. The guitar work seems to call back to earlier, more rock-heavy songs like “Homesick” or “Your Needs, My Needs,” while in the quieter moments it seems to recall Kahan’s softer style seen in “Call Your Mom” or “Paul Revere.”
It is impossible to talk about the release of the single without eagerly looking forward to Kahan’s album of the same name releasing in April. Kahan has been working on the album for potentially years and practically torturing his fans with Instagram story declarations that the album was “almost done,” then “finished” but still not released.
Kahan’s ominous announcements that the album will be “well worth the wait” and will explore more memories from growing up in Vermont have left fans struggling with the news that it will not be released for so long. There is hope, however, in an easter egg found within the music video that something could be expected March 20.
As fans decipher every cryptic and often humorous Instagram story the artist releases, the album promises to be the soundtrack of summer 2026 for all those hoping to take a road trip, visit a national park, hammock in the wild, traverse New England or simply have their heart ripped out and sewn back together.
All in all, folk fanatics, granola girls and the general population alike are very anxious to “launch ourselves across the great divide” that is the distance between us and April 24. All we know now is Noah Kahan is back, and we couldn’t be more excited.
