Several songs, including Dan and the title track The Great Divide, address the emotional distance between old friends who don’t see each other often enough, but want to try harder.
American Cars, meanwhile, tells an achingly familiar story for anyone who’s had to dash across the country to attend a family emergency.
Kahan says he’s grateful that fame allowed him to reassess his relationships.
“Success fundamentally changed everything about my life, but it’s also opened the door to conversations I never would have had without it,” he says.
“It forced me to reflect on whether I took care of my relationships. Have I been a good friend, or a good son? A lot of these songs are reflecting on those things.”
When he does return to his hometown of Strafford, Vermont (population 4,200), Kahan gets a refreshing dose of reality.
“The people there have their own stuff to be getting on with,” he laughs. “Like, ‘I’ve got to go chop wood, I don’t have time to worry about your feelings’.
“Some people do recognise me, but a lot of times it’s because I played soccer with their kid, or I worked at the valet stop in town. So I’m able to go home and feel like I did when I was 17.”
His depiction of home sounds idyllic. When he’s not entertaining stadiums, he spends endless summer days camping at Bow Lake, fishing and swigging beers with his buddies.
It makes you wonder whether he’d be better off if his new album didn’t do so well.
“It’s a really good question,” he says. “You obviously want it to go well, but on another level, I don’t think that’s the healthiest thing, you know?
“But I think I have a better perspective on success now, and I think it’s going to allow me to enjoy these moments more.”