The singer-songwriter included “American Cars” and “Paid Time Off” in his four-song set, which also featured an old Stick Season favorite
Noah Kahan rolled up to NPR’s Tiny Desk for a four-song performance that featured the debut of two tracks from his upcoming album, The Great Divide.
Kahan opened his performance with one of those new cuts, “American Cars,” which he previously shared a snippet of online. The full version found Kahan and his band singing in delicate multi-part harmony, “You know that I miss you, you always come running back/Whenever I ask, whenever I ask.”
Next, Kahan played the “The Great Divide,” then followed it up with “Orange Juice,” a standout from his 2022 breakthrough album, Stick Season. Afterward, Kahan joked about the somber tone his music often hits, quipping, “The songs are really sad, I know that, so thank you guys for keeping your smiles on your faces. I’m leaving my Lexapro for you guys — I figure we can treat it like a take-one, leave-one penny system. Ten milligrams, severe side effects.”
Kahan then closed his set with the second previously unreleased song from The Great Divide, “Paid Time Off,” which he called “one of my favorite songs” from his new record. While the tune also began on a more mellow note, it quickly settled into a plucky, backporch groove with Kahan singing, “Spent a damn near perfect day/Just getting high at the outlet mall/People grow up and they move away/But you don’t care and I don’t mind at all.”
The Great Divide is set to arrive April 24. Kahan will embark on a North American tour in support of the record in June, with dates scheduled through August.
