Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers released her new album, “Don’t Forget Me,” on April 12. It’s certainly worthwhile, but I walked away mostly unfulfilled.
My feelings about this album are, to say the least, strange. I don’t love this album, but I don’t want to dislike it either. The melodies are soothing, the subject matter and lyrics are very introspective, and the instrumentals fit well under Rogers’ voice.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what the album has, but it could benefit from additions.
Generally, I felt the album was too gentle for its own good. It was frustrating in a way; I would hear melodies that were great and could be catchy, but the mellowness of the music made it hard to fully latch onto.
From the lyrics, it’s easy to tell Rogers is a very mature and wise person. Her perspective is sobering. I learned this entire album was written and recorded in five days. While that is wildly impressive, I think that is obvious upon listening. The music ultimately suffers from it.
The subject matter and lyrics suffer more from the rushed production than anything.
Some of my all-time favorite albums, such as Phoebe Bridgers’ “Punisher” and Bright Eyes’ “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” have similar themes and messages as Rogers’ album.
The difference is that those two albums have much more variety in tempo and dynamics. It keeps the listener engaged and helps the music sit with them longer. I felt the repetitiveness of the instrumentation and production was a little disappointing given how clear it is that Rogers is an extremely competent musician. After all, her first claim to fame was impressing Pharrell Williams with her music when she was just a college student.
As I write this, I am struggling to meet my desired word count. While I would normally attribute this to writer’s block, I also think that’s a sign of the error in the music; for better or worse, it doesn’t leave me with much to say or look back at.
All in all, Rogers executed her vision well. I don’t believe this is a bad product, just an incomplete one. Still, I have immense respect for Rogers and look forward to seeing how she continues to craft her sound, and I would love to hear her albums that weren’t written in five days.