“Noah Kahan: Out of Body” is a new Netflix documentary released on April 13 that explores the rise to fame and personal struggles of American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan.
The two-time Grammy-nominated music artist released his 2022 album “Stick Season,” a folk-pop album that contains hit songs such as “Stick Season,” “Northern Attitude,” and “Everywhere, Everything.” Kahan is known for blending genres of folk, rock, and pop into songs that contain deeper lyrics about nostalgia and mental health.
His upcoming album, “The Great Divide,” releases on Friday, April 24.
The documentary presents an insight into the singer’s life as he struggles with body image, strives to spread awareness about mental health through his music, and finds sanctuary in his hometown.
“Noah Kahan: Out of Body” opens as Kahan is preparing to perform at Fenway Park, a baseball stadium that’s home to the Boston Red Sox. Fans are lined up outside in anticipation for his performance. The documentary then transitions to the snowy town of Strafford, Vermont, which sets the tone of exploring the concert-focused and private aspects of his life.
Kahan’s parents and siblings are then introduced, as they play a pivotal role throughout the documentary. There are scenes of Kahan hiking or skiing with his siblings and playing guitar with his dad, which gives the viewer an insight into Kahan’s personal life and to learn about who he is outside of writing and performing music.
A few scenes integrate older home videos of Kahan and his family when they were all younger, which is an interesting technique to show the relationship growth with his family and the personal growth he goes through.
Other scenes at the beginning of the documentary show Kahan reading through lyrics of older songs he wrote during high school. These scenes then transition to brief TikTok videos of him playing the guitar as he is still changing the lyrics to his hit song “Stick Season.” This was a nice way of giving a look into his development as a singer-songwriter, as he drew upon inspiration from his family life to write his music.
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A major point of exploration within the documentary is Kahan’s struggles with body image and body dysmorphia, with different scenes of him expressing self-doubt and insecurity about how he looked. This allows the documentary to show the raw emotions he faces when not performing.
One interesting technique the documentary utilizes is sprinkling in Kahan’s songs to coincide with transitions between scenes or explore different themes such as mental health awareness.
During a concert to raise funding for mental health access to Vermont residents, Kahan performs his song “You’re Gonna Go Far,” a bittersweet song about leaving a familiar place to experience personal growth.
One delightful scene shows a young fan meeting Kahan backstage before the Fenway Park concert. Kahan sings “Forever,” a nice song about persevering through struggles and staying hopeful.
Throughout the performance scenes, the documentary shows the excitement and intrigue of many different audience members. The crowd chants Kahan’s name when he walks onto the stage and sings the chorus of his songs such as “Northern Attitude,” representing his drastic rise to fame.
After the energetic concert scenes, there is an abrupt transition back to the quiet, snowy scenery of Vermont. This was a nice representation of the back-and-forth that Kahan endures between performing and having a quieter life with family.
The final moments of the documentary show Kahan and other musicians in the recording studio. Kahan sings and plays guitar into the microphone as the other musicians play their own instruments.
It would potentially have been interesting for the documentary to present more scenes or snippets of Kahan in the recording studio as he worked on his upcoming album. The writing and recording process would have given more insight into the inspirations for songs and a better behind-the-scenes perspective of the recording process.
However, the final scenes end the documentary on a high note and invoke intrigue and curiosity in his fans and people familiar with his music on what the upcoming album will entail.
“Noah Kahan: Out of Body” is an interesting documentary that paints a clear picture of the singer-songwriter’s personal struggles and inspirations for his popular music. For those who are fans of Kahan or familiar with his folk-inspired music, this documentary would be worth watching.