Stick Season is the third studio album by singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, and… Read Full Bio ↴Stick Season is the third studio album by singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, and was released on October 14, 2022 via Mercury/Republic Records.

Kahan said in an interview with Insider that stick season is “the time between peak foliage and Halloween and the first snow — when all the leaves are off the trees. It's a time of transition. And it's super depressing.” Mimicking this bleak time of the year, the album is full of transitions surrounding leaving home, growing up and getting help for mental health. Kahan further highlights the transition from quarantine to semi-normal life as “Stick Season” touches upon the inability to leave home because of “COVID on the planes.”

The first two tracks on the album, “Northern Attitude” and “Stick Season,” were released before the rest of the album and gained widespread popularity on TikTok: “Stick Season” was released first on July 8 with “Northern Attitude” coming out on September 16.

In addition to the sense of place, Kahan also draws on a deep sense of nostalgia for the people of his adolescence throughout the album. Kahan also discusses mental health as a deep theme within the album.

But even if you aren’t experiencing stick season in New England, the album captures complicated feelings of home for everyone. Whether the listener has a connection to New England or not, the nostalgia and growth that Kahan captured is universal.

- Words by Elle Muller via The Dartmouth