Review: on 'Draw You Out', Noah Kahan turns Haymitch's grief into a stadium anthem, and 'The Hunger Games' gets its best song in years

Released this Friday (Oct. 2), 'Draw You Out' kicks off the soundtrack to 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping', which hits theaters on Nov. 20, and it already shows why choosing Noah Kahan makes sense. Co-written and co-produced by Aaron Dessner, the same partner behind 'The Great Divide', the album that debuted at No. 1 in the US and UK in April, the song was recorded between Long Pond Studio in New York and Nashville. Kahan himself says he was inspired by the 'tragic yet hopeful' story of Haymitch and Lenore Dove, and that is where it succeeds.

Instead of recreating the arena, the singer writes the aftermath. The verses take on Haymitch's inner voice during the Games, with images of anger and cowardice, while the chorus leaps to grief and the promise to carry someone along ('I carry you on with me'). The insistent acoustic guitar and multi-tracked vocals give the chorus a stadium singalong feel reminiscent of 'Stick Season', and sad lyrics disguised by an upbeat groove are a trick he masters like few others. The result feels cathartic rather than defeated, which fits the franchise's tone very well.

The problem is that the track rarely takes risks. Anyone who followed the 'The Great Divide' era will recognize every texture of Dessner's production, and at times 'Draw You Out' sounds more like a deluxe leftover from the April album than a song built for the screen. It lacks an element tying it to the world of Panem, something other soundtracks in the saga managed. Still, as the gateway to a 29-track album due Nov. 13, it does its job well: it is moving, singable and honest. Score: 7.5/10