Noah Levine’s debut album, Leaver, is a deeply personal reflection on the themes of growing, leaving, and regretting as inherent parts of life. The eleven songs on this record untangle many of the complicated life experiences that center on those themes, pulling inspiration from generalized experiences and from specific moments in Levine’s own life.
“I recently came to realize that I tend to overgeneralize when it comes to things that I do. For example, when somebody leaves a situation, they are now a “Leaver”. I regret an action from the past, I’m a “Regretter”. It’s a flaw that runs through my family and I’ve sprinkled these blanket labels for myself and others all over this record- almost as a way to make fun of how ridiculous it is to do that all the time. I’ve struggled to just take things at face value without placing a deeper meaning on them, and with this album, I’ve given that immature part of myself the platform to say how it feels.
Since leaving Berklee College of music in 2022 to tour the world with Noah Kahan, Levine has made a living on the road, constantly leaving one place for another and at times struggling with returning home to places that were also growing and changing. The song “Everything I Wanted”, written with Sam MacPherson and Sam Westhoff, laments those specific feelings, with the lyrics “Every time I come home I’m a little less known by the people I see” and “Where do I go now? Got to find a friend every state I’m in, somehow.”
Still, while Levine refers to himself as a “regretter” early in the album, the themes of regret that are present through the rest of the songs often manifest more as lack thereof, establishing an incredibly mature perspective for a twenty-three year old.
“I’ve had some learning experiences that were humbling to say the least, but if you can take the bad days with a grain of salt and learn from them, that’s where I tend to grow the most.”
The song “Big Red”, for example, is specifically inspired by memories of messing around in the Texas woods with a childhood friend that Levine is able to look back on and appreciate without any type of regret twisted up in the nostalgia. When introducing the song onstage, Levine states that “It’s not a friendship I particularly yearn to have back: he’s different now, and I’m different now, and we don’t need to finish a book that’s already finished.”
“Cause you played your part and I filled out my role / Two like minds, checking out / But I’ll paint you good when your name comes out my mouth”
-Noah Levine, Big Red
Levine cites personal relationships “an endless well of stories and perspective” that played an important role in bringing Leaver to life. In addition to being heavily influenced by personal relationships in conceptualizing and writing, Levine worked with friends and collaborators Noah Kahan, Sydney Rose, Sam MacPherson, and Sam Westhoff when writing and producing the record.
“These are all people who I am a genuine fan of their creativity, and I’m grateful for their investment in my work as well. Working with my friends lets me get out of my head a bit. There is nothing more valuable in a creative room than perspective, and I love to get as much of it as I can when I’m writing.”
The perspectives that Noah Levine was able to tap into when writing Leaver clearly unlocked something magical. The album is beautifully cohesive both lyrically and sonically, and plays on the titular themes of leaving and regretting with a beautifully complex subtlety. Still, Levine shrugs off the idea that he’s created something with a grand thesis.
“I don’t really like to pretend that this album is a Ted Talk type of lesson for people, it’s really just how I’ve interpreted things that everyone else has experienced… I hope my perspective and point of view can be something that people either find peace in knowing someone feels the same way, or can maybe give insight into another point of view.”
You can listen to Leaver on Spotify or Apple Music, and order it on vinyl here. To see Noah’s headline shows, head to fvr.fan/noahlevine/imgoingontour.
