Noah Kahan and Sam Fender – Homesick Review

Reimagining songs with other artists a year after their release can be seen as a bold shift in tone or an understanding of Noah Kahan’s fine qualities. Homesick, his Stick Season piece now paired with the colloquial charms of Sam Fender, is a perfect pairing. Truly, one of the great brainwaves of our time. An album filled with those heady days of being at home in North Shields and the area around it on Seventeen Going Under gives Fender, who played a pair of sold-out gigs at his hometown football club, Newcastle United, a chance to showcase his love for home once more. It is not a tired form for the Hypersonic Missiles singer and suits him much better than the Americanised heartland of his first outing. Kahan enlisting Fender for a cover is a wonderful collaboration, and likely one of their best. 

Turn these tunes into collaborative endeavours and reap the rewards of big names. Kahan is a big name, and his attentive display with Fender on Homesick is marvellous. The Seventeen Going Under singer brings through a vocal rush displaying his fine form and range. Both bring the best of their respective genres to a head and come out the other end with one of their finest works. Homesick is a dependable piece not just for the flickers of heartland influence from Fender and the guitar work toward the end of the track but the stomp and holler feel Kahan brings. There are elements still of the Hozier collaboration from last year, though this piece with Fender and Kahan feels as intimate as it gets for stars of the show.  

A homeliness to both, especially when remembering their formative years. Are you destined to die in the house you grew up in? Fender is at odds with his biggest influence, Bruce Springsteen, on the pull and appeal of homely attitudes. Some will live and die where they were born while others will find their roots pulled and planted elsewhere. Homesick tries to tie itself to the fundamentals of youth, where the earliest memories are is where the heart stays. It is a bold claim and a big one to make, though Fender is consistently assured and has proven himself of this belief, and it makes sense for Kahan to enlist him for this adaptation of the Stick Season track. Those homely drones and guitar cries toward the end make a difference, an almost convincing argument. 

Much focus should be on Kahan too, whose vocal range is beyond exceptional. He does take a backseat to the short and sharp moments Fender is given – recalling the youth and days he was brought up in. It is what he does best, and audiences should remember that should they feel tired of what may be perceived as a colloquial shtick rather than the heartwarming and sincere piece it is. It does not get much better than Fender recalling his early years with Kahan backing him, providing ample range in his unique style. The pair comes together with a back-and-forth which suits this piece tremendously, Homesick declares what it says in its title, but works it over as a necessary heartbreak to endure.