Maggie Rogers reflects on the passage of time in new album, 'Don't Forget Me'
Fresh out of a Harvard master’s program, indie extraordinaire Maggie Rogers returns to the music scene with a record chock full of dense instrumentals and nostalgic lyrics.
‘Don’t Forget Me’ is Rogers’s third studio album and couples the fiery energy of her 2022 record, ‘Surrender’ with a somewhat folksy feel, a sound that was perfectly introduced by the singles “So Sick of Dreaming” and title track “Don’t Forget Me.”
A photo Rogers shared on her Instagram on release day.
The album opens with “It Was Coming All Along,” a track that introduces more and more sonic elements, from synth to strings, setting up the record’s overall use of a plethora of instruments creating a cohesive, yet texturally unique sound. Despite the track’s upbeat feel, “It Was Coming All Along” establishes the album’s theme of soul-crushing lyrics about growing up. If you couldn’t tell the message of the album by the title, Rogers lets listeners know what they are in for when she sings, “And everywhere I look around / It seems we’re always saying goodbye.”
Track two, “Drunk,” provides the definition of an experiential listen. The fast strumming of an acoustic guitar, straightforward snare beat and the first lyric, “On the run,” set the tone of the song perfectly: A highly energetic, slightly panicked track that you can not help but jump along to.
Following “So Sick of Dreaming” and “The Kill,” is “If Now Was Then,” a track that eases listeners into a more laid-back vibe. Despite the song being slightly less sonically dense, Rogers employs her sense of musicality with playful harmonies in the outro and a groovy bass line in the chorus. I can not help but imagine driving around a small town with the windows down on a sunny spring day while singing along with Rogers’s infectious melody in “If Now Was Then.”
“On & On & On” continues the easy-listening feel of this portion of the album while introducing a slight country twang with a tinny-sounding guitar coupled with a rocking bass line in the intro. The theme of retrospection persists in “On & On & On,” but with a more badass outlook: “I’ve played it back a million times / And always wish that I was wiser / But it’ll be comin’ back to bite you like a dog / You know you better run for cover.”
“I Still Do” and “All The Same” are the two newest editions to Rogers’s collection of heartbreaking ballads. With Rogers’s soothing vibrato-filled vocals accompanied by just a piano, “I Still Do” achingly reflects on self-growth in a relationship, marked by lyrics like “Love is not the final straw / But it’s always a reason to risk it all.” “All The Same” is a stunning acoustic with passage of time notions: “And suddenly you look around / And find the ground still feeling like it’s yesterday.”
The lead single and title track “Don’t Forget Me” closes the album, perfectly rounding out the record’s reflective and yearning themes and making it impossible for listeners to “forget” Rogers’s breathtaking music.
The Don’t Forget Me Tour kicks off Saturday in New York City, the first of four “Release Shows,” before Rogers hits the road for the summer leg of the tour starting May 23 in San Diego, California. Rogers announced the second leg of the tour on Thursday, her first arena tour, featuring a “Box Office Week” for each show when fans can purchase tickets in person to avoid bots and scalpers on online ticket-buying platforms.