Maggie Rogers - Don’t Forget Me

There was a sense running through both of Maggie Rogers’ first two records that perhaps she was yet to find her voice, figuratively speaking. In literal terms, it has always been there. One of the few constants on both 2019’s ‘Heard It In A Past Life’ and 2022’s ‘Surrender’ were her routinely gorgeous vocals; honeyed without being saccharine, sumptuously rich but nimble enough to carry the kind of breezy indie pop that’s at the core of her songwriting. Musically, though, she perhaps tried on a few too many different hats for her debut, and then stuck too resolutely to an indie folk setting on her second, which is why it bodes well that the process behind ‘Don’t Forget Me’ apparently left precious little room for overthinking, recorded as it was across five days, and consisting as it does of mostly first-take recordings.

It means these songs are light on their feet, imbuing classic pop structures with nippy urgency on the likes of ‘Drunk’ and ‘The Kill’, while offering up a clutch of sunny gems tailor-made for summertime road trips, especially the standout ‘So Sick of Dreaming’. Breaking them up are a couple of smartly crafted ballads; ‘I Still Do’ and ‘All the Same’ yearn without being overwrought, while the title track brings the curtain down handsomely. Most important is that the whole piece has a wonderful looseness to it, something that spreads to the laid-back and frequently witty lyricism. ‘Don’t Forget Me’ is the sound of an artist finally beginning to sink cosily into her own skin, and enjoying herself enormously in the process.