Album Review: The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs by Noah Kahan
- Maddie Pieper
- 3 hours ago
- 14 min read
I'm writing this review out of spite since Pitchfork gave this album a 6.2. I'm not a diehard Noah Kahan fan, and I've listened to a couple of songs off of Stick Season, but this album is not even remotely worth a 6.2. I'd give it a solid 9/10, maybe a 7.5 or 8 on a conservative grading scale, but a 6.2 is foul.
I actually feel kinda bad for the guy, because I feel like he took too much of a new direction for fans of Stick Season, and yet it wasn't enough to placate the critics. I actually didn't like this album when I did my first listen at work in broad daylight, but I listened to it in my car in the rain, and it was so much better. I'm surprised he decided to release it in April, because I think it would've sold a lot better in August, but I mean it's his album and his call. Either way, this is an album you're forced to sit with.
The Critics are Wrong.
Most of the criticisms have been that it sounds too repetitive and tropey. I've always thought attacking an album for being consistent is low-hanging fruit, since we often equally attack albums and artists as a whole for not having a consistent sound. It feels like artists have a terrible tightrope to walk where they can't sound the same, but they can't sound too different. Additionally, I think albums that are "too repetitive" mean you should interrogate them more and find the differences the artist obviously had in mind when making separate songs. Ugh, I'm still mad at this pitchfork score. Jeez.
Critics have also described it as "cloying," and I do think it gets a little too sentimental at times. But this also forced me to contemplate why we think of sincerity as something that needs to be tempered, rather than just accepting the emotional expression for what it is: genuine. And good! God forbid a musician sing about how they actually feel.
The last major critique is that the album is too long, but in my opinion, that reflects a time before streaming, when albums had to be a bit tighter. I love that we are seeing some longer albums, and I can't imagine why fans would want to hear less music from their favorite artists. An album is a project, and people can put whatever they want on it! It's their project and their processing, and an artist's creative work does not have to be made solely for the fans. I think fans can have a hard time accepting that every song was not written for them, so we're seeing a lot of backlash online that (once again, my opinion) is undeserved.
Overall, I recommend giving this album a chance, especially if you're a Noah Kahan fan. I've liked it a lot more after giving it time to settle, and I've found my favorite tracks. I probably won't listen to the full thing more than I already have (probably like seven times), but I'll keep my favorites on repeat. This is definitely an album where you can pick out your favorite songs, but I don't think you need to love an entire album for it to be "good".
I'm going over every track, in-depth, but here are my standouts:
The Great Divide
Doors
Downfall
Staying Still
Willing and Able
Dashboard
23
Porch Light
We Go Way Back
All Them Horses
Orbiter
End of August
We are hit with a long opener coming in at 5 minutes and 17 seconds.
It starts nice and slow with piano and vocals, letting Kahan's lyrics and melodies shine. Then we get a lot of oohs. which were a given (yay!). I like a lot of the vocals overlapping, and then a fun, beautiful build to the last chorus that ends as soon as it arrives.
The last chorus is a lovely swell of sound, and the trombone is a nice touch. The strings are perfect, which was also a given, considering how awesome they were in Stick Season.
This song is probably one of the more complex ones on the album, but it didn't make my favorite list because it just doesn't quite fit with where I'm at in life (happy and graduating!). I do think I'll have it on repeat in August, when I'm reckoning with what I'm doing with my life and what adulthood means.
Doors
This is a fan favorite from what I've seen online! I really love the lyricism, but I think the rhythm section in this song is so great.
The instrumental section before the bridge and chorus actually goes in 6/4 to 4/4, so a whimsical little addition there.
The bass slide entrances are fun, and I've been practicing the drum part in this song, which is cool since there's a little part where the snare comes in on the and-of 3 in the chorus (you can hear it after "I scream in my sleep" and "I'm a sure bet at a losing streak."
American Cars
This was one of my favorites when I first listened and wasn't sure how I felt about the album, and I still love it. It didn't make my favorites list now because I don't understand cars. Sorry.
I love the electric guitar tone on this song; it's just such a nice nod to the warm rock. So Springsteen. So good.
I also love how he says "fragile" like frah-gile, versus frah-jull.
I like the drums and the build; it's a song that seems feel-good at first glance and then makes you a little sad when you read the lyrics.
Honestly, I'm rethinking my initial comment on this not making the favorites, because it's a strong contender. Maybe I'm just too emo to be upbeat.
We have that same little snare at the end of the song coming in on the and-of 3! I like it, it's a break from the whole stomp-clap beat that is all folk-rock. Maybe I'll notice it more in other songs too now.
Downfall
I KNOW BON IVER IS DOING BACKGROUND VOCALS!!!!
Oh, I found the credits for him, yay, I love being right.
I love the lyrics and theme of this song, and I also just love the orchestration. The banjo is so good and fits the melody so, so, so well. You could easily take the lyrics of this song and make it Midwest emo if you added a weird time signature and an electric guitar.
There's also some steel guitar in there, which you can hear more in the last chorus.
I'm not sure whether I love this song for Bon Iver's vocals or the lyrics, but it's just an awesome song. The imagery of a dead deer is also sadly relatable.
He recently sang this song with Hayley Williams at one of her concerts, which is something I never knew I needed. It was SO GOOD.
Lighthouse
This song is slow, sad, and beautiful, and showcases Kahan's vocals.
I'm a big fan of the opening synth drone. See, this is exactly why I'm confused about everyone saying the album sounds the same. This does not sound like "American Cars." What.
I can't tell if Bon Iver's vocals are in the background, since he's not credited, but there was an Instagram post about it a while ago. I think I hear him. I'm combing the lighthouse to hear his vocals.
Either way, this song is very Bon Iver coded. Especially the one harmony on "I comb the lighthouse" in the last chorus.
I really like this song, I'm just not sad enough to listen to it and rot. Definitely a yearning depression anthem though, so next time I'm in that mood I'll pull it up.
Paid Time Off
We have a nice, slow start with an acoustic guitar, but then it goes right into stomp-clap folk music in the chorus.
This is obviously far more folky, with Carrie K on background vocals. I could hear this song on a playlist at some tiny coffee shop with Mumford & Sons and Of Monsters and Men.
There's banjo, guitar, and stomp-clap drums. Not sure what else you need in life.
Staying Still
LOVE this one. The melody in the verses is fun, and I like the drum beat because it's weird.
I think it's on the beat of 3, and then the and of 2 and the and of 4 in the verse. Sorta. This isn't a drum blog, so I won't go into detail about all that. TLDR: They aren't stomp-clap drums.
And they're so good, the one fill in the entrance to the last chorus scratches an itch in my brain.
There's a bar of 2/4 after the chorus, yay!
I think "The Great Divide" does a good job of exemplifying what Noah Kahan does best, sound-wise, and it's definitely the more famous song, but this one is probably my favorite. I would pick this song, along with something off Stick Season, if I had to show his music to someone who didn't know him well. I would actually pick it over "The Great Divide," but that's a bit of a hot take.
It has the strings, vocal belts, and big entrances he's known for. It's a fun, epic folk-rock song. 10/10.
It makes sense he put this before "The Great Divide" on the track list.
The Great Divide
This was released as a single, and I loved it then and love it now. I think the album itself is softer in a way, so maybe fans expected more of this sound, but whatever. I love it, and the album is growing on me.
This is definitely one of the louder, more forceful songs on the album. It has some crazy momentum that is just constantly pushing you through the song. I could probably make a metaphor about the passage of time and how the beat and lyrics connect, but that's a little much for the blog. Just know that it's there.
This is tied with "End of August" for the longest song on the album.
It also sets the album's thematic tone, with songs written from the perspective of people in Kahan's life. I don't do lyrical analysis, since my blogs would be longer than they already are, but keep that in mind when you're listening.
It's slightly more rock-based than Stick Season, and I really like the new direction. It's a perfect title track. No notes.
Haircut
This song features a ton of instruments. We are nearing country-folk territory!
You can mostly hear the fiddle throughout and the bass in the chorus, but there's a musical saw in the choruses and the second verse (it sounds like a little cartoon ghost).
There's also a dobro, or a resonator guitar, which I like because it has a silly name. It sounds sorta like a metallic banjo and is very country. You can hear it best between the lines of the chorus.
There's a little descending bassline entrance at the end of the bridge. The bass guitar definitely makes this song. And the musical saw, it adds a lot of fun texture.
Willing and Able
This song's guitar riff reminds me of Hozier. The strumming pattern and guitar build are all Kahan, though.
It has a very dreamy melody, which is mostly from the steel guitar in the chorus. I like the drums/percussion throughout, since they aren't super loud and are less noticeable than a full kit. I think the kick and shaker do plenty! There's also some tambourine.
I really like the string orchestration at the end. It just makes the whole thing feel angsty in a cinematic way, rather than a whiny way. It adds some class! Not that it was needed; strings just make everything feel a little fancy since it's ingrained in our brains to hear classical music as something ornate.
Dashboard
I love the electric guitar tone here, too. It's just like in "American Cars." So warm.
The first verse is in 6/8 but has a slightly strange 3/8 guitar-and-drums pattern in between "Just when you think that the road's straight ahead, is when the devil shows up on your dashboard again." So, it happens twice, but it's weird to try to keep the 6/8 count throughout. Nice touch, and not something I noticed until I tried to play along.
The verses are pretty stripped back instrument-wise, but the choruses are so fun.
The drums kick in, and there's a tom hit timed with the bassline.
The bassline has the same melody as some parts in the chorus, like "Look at you go" and "Tryna run away", which is so fun when you listen in.
I also like in the first chorus that all the instruments cut out for "you're still an a**hole," which is such a fantastic choice. Give it space so we can all be very clear about what he's saying!
This is just a fun song to sing along to. The big entrance of the last chorus and the little lyric break are also great. Such a good drum fill at the end.
23
We are sad and mellow again! And the ghostly sounds this time should be pedal steel guitar, but maybe they're slide. When everything gets drenched in reverb and dynamics can be changed in production, it's kinda hard to tell. Sorry, I'm an amateur.
I'm not sure if I love this song because I'm 23 or because there are swear words again, but it's a great song. It's also in 6/8, which is nice. I love 6/8. It's used a lot, but it should be used more.
The background vocals that come in later are really nice; they have their own melody rather than being purely harmonies. He does these oohs in other songs, but this song is quiet, so it's easier to hear.
Still easily one of my favorites in the album. It doesn't overcomplicate things and is simple and emo. Well done.
Porch Light
This is also one of the singles that was released to tease the album. I didn't like it until I sat with it and thought about how parents feel, and then I cried a little.
The chorus is so insanely catchy. It's definitely bigger-sounding than other songs on the album in terms of instrumentation, but it does a really good job at building throughout.
It has a softer momentum than "The Great Divide," but there's still a bit of a relentless, churning feeling with the kick and marching snare.
I really like the mandolin and banjo. I think Kahan does a great job of constructing songs in a more pop/rock format, but the instrumentation really anchors the genre.
Deny Deny Deny
Let's take the same rock electric guitar and make it ANGRY!
We have very rock-based drums in the chorus with the tom pattern.
This song also has a very long instrumental break for the bridge, which also has some of Kahan's vocals. The guitar riff is fun! I think it's a guitar. Once again, string instruments are hard for me, sorry.
The last chorus starts off slow and then all the sound comes back in. I see why this one is also a fan favorite, and I'm sure it will be so fun in concert.
Headed North
People think this song was recorded outside on a porch, hence the crickets, and that the intro starts with a mess-up.
It's very acoustic and raw. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a live take, but it's a testament to Kahan's sound and everyone's skill that we can't actually tell. Guess we will never know. I bet five dollars it's completely live.
Very campfire, good lyrics, I'm a fan.
We Go Way Back
I like this song because it's soft and acoustic, but there's a really big soundscape. The instruments blend really well, and it's just sad and sweet.
It's a song about healing, and the piano is very gentle. The guitars keep the rhythm going, but the song's pacing is pretty slow. It's just a very tender song, both sonically and lyrically, and I like that he fully committed to this direction.
Once again, this album has some variety because this song does not sound like the others. What were you thinking, Pitchfork?!?!?!
There's no crazy vocal belting happening, just a gentle song, which is why it made the list of my favorites.
Spoiled
Lyrically, this song is really fun and interesting because it's about Kahan's hypothetical future children, and he says they'll be spoiled as f**k. And also blame him. So it definitely makes you think about family dynamics and the cycle of trauma and all that.
We have the same big bass guitar call-and-response with the electric guitar, which is still nice, and I'm not tired of it yet. Kahan does a great job of using instruments to create an environment for him to sing in, rather than having them just play along. It's a difficult distinction to actually write about, but it's something I can feel, I think.
The last chorus has the same big swell and build as all the other songs, which is starting to get a little repetitive format-wise, but it's what he does. It's what he does really well!! If he wants to keep the same song format, then that's his right.
All Them Horses
Ugh, I'm starting to have too many favorites from the album again.
The backing vocals by Nina De Vitry are really just so lovely.
The verses are terribly depressing and bitter, but they're well written. We're hit with two verses at the start of the song, keeping it super sad before we pick up in the chorus.
The chorus takes some of the bite out of it and keeps the mellow, sad vibe. This is not a very angry song, but it's deceptively mean in its self-reflection. That's not really surprising, since a lot of Kahan's songs are about his internal guilt and frustration, but it's not very kind. It's lonely. It's a lonely song.
We have more strings in this song, with country vibes from the fiddle, cello, and dobro, as in other tracks like "Haircut". But I find it really impressive that Kahan was able to look at himself from so many angles and evoke so many different feelings without much instrumental variation.
A Few Of Your Own
We brighten up a lot more following "All Them Horses." The mandolin is really nice.
Stomp-clap drums come back, which was expected considering how upbeat and positive this song is. It's a great summer song and has all the fun string riffs and strum breaks of the other songs.
You can definitely hear the campfire vibes in the last chorus when the fiddle and vocal harmonies come in. It's a straightforward, classic folk song. I've been drawn to more of the lyrically or sonically complex songs on the album, but it does everything right, and I have no complaints. I have less to wrestle with, though, which I like about a song, so it's simply not a standout for me.
Orbiter
The fingerpicking on this song is so fast and clean, it's super impressive. It's definitely the part of the song that caught my attention first.
It's really interesting since this song feels very spacey, just with the Interstellar-esque "Cornfield Chase" repetition vibe, but this is not a space-themed album. It's like a rural cornfields, crickets, and angst album. Just a fun switch thematically, and I'm glad he did it.
The little synth drones absolutely add to this space vibe. The bass grounds it a bit more; it's just a spacey song. A spinning-out song.
Notably, this is one of the songs with less of a straightforward verse-chorus format. There's like a pre-chorus and post-chorus.
The "I circle you" refrain takes a fair amount of vocal control to hit all of those notes precisely. He ate that up.
I'm not sure, this song just made my standout list because it was a little different than all the other ones on the album and is just a beautiful song.
Dan
My friend likes this song, which is fitting to talk about since the song is all about friendship. It felt a little too campfire for me, and I'm a little too emo for that, but it's a sweet song. I'm not sure if it can be classified as a "feel-good" song, since it's achingly honest about talking about death and loneliness, but I'd think it's kinda feel-good.
I like the little backing vocals and harmonies that come in on the second verse and on.
It's nostalgic and ends the album on a sweet note, but it feels a little startling after tromping around for 96 minutes in some sad stuff. Still, it's a good song and a good album. Pitchfork, you and I will have words.
Final Thoughts
Under no circumstances does this album deserve the Pitchfork rating it got. I do understand that Pitchfork did not review The Last of The Bugs edition, meaning they missed "Lighthouse," "Staying Still", "A Few of Own", and "Orbiter", but those songs didn't change my overall thoughts on the album much. Tsk tsk. Listen if you want and are curious and definitely check out the tracks I recommended. Let me know your thoughts!!
I only have one more blog before I graduate, and it's the last of my time at UIC Radio. Thanks for reading my absurdly long thoughts!!!
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