While themes of self-discovery, anxiety and insecurity permeate the album, Heard It in a Past Life nonetheless stands as a powerful mission statement, marrying influences from the dance music she embraced while in Europe during a gap year and the folk music of her upbringing with finesse and conviction. Festival darling status beckons.
With Heard It in a Past Life, Rogers proves that the success of her singles was no mere accident.
The dozen self-penned songs reveal she's consumed by questions of personal identity, but she doesn't want to commit to being any particular self.
It's this strong songwriting that brings all these new sounds and styles together and is what will continue to set her apart from her contemporaries.
At its core, Heard It In a Past Life is a collection of self-searching moments: miniature mental flashbulbs of realization from a young adult striving to adjust to the swiftly shifting world around her.
While it sometimes feels like Rogers could be even bolder than she is on Heard It in a Past Life, it's a strong debut that shows how well she's growing into her fame as well as all the dimensions of her music.
Maggie Rogers is a pure pop star and a deserving one, at that. She’s self-assured in a way other radio stars aren’t, never afraid to fold in her folk background and do whatever she wants. And you just can’t help but root for her.
Rogers writes anthems for the modern age, with all the paradoxical feelings of empowerment, anxiety, heartbreak and growth that that entails.
These are warm, well crafted pop tunes that I don’t doubt we’ll be hearing in heavy rotation on Ken Bruce’s show as Record Of The Week between Popmaster rounds.
The effortless feel of Rogers’ debut no doubt comes from the way it follows modern pop guidelines, but it also stems from Rogers’ own innate talent, one you hope she decides to start taking chances with in the future.
The music presented on her awaited debut Heard It In A Past Life feels deep rooted in nostalgic Americana, a wash of soft palette colours.
Heard It in a Past Life is evidence of Rogers’ ambition and potential, but it is proof, too, that you can’t bottle lightning.
Her ability to combine a big, broad sound with studious attention to detail transforms what could be a restless debut into something more.
While often precious, it’s never bad or incompetent, but there’s a frustrating sense of bets being hedged, particularly once the more ambitious production gives way to mildly anguished stadium boom towards the end.
Unfortunately, what made Rogers stand out – a warmly idiosyncratic voice and a strong grasp of melody made less conventional with looping samples and unexpected beats – is still best showcased by her 2017 EP, Now That the Light Is Fading.
Maggie Rogers' debut studio album doesn't have much in the way of memorable songwriting or a distinctive voice.
With her hook-heavy brand of Synthpop and Indie Folk, Maggrie Rogers had me bopping my head and singing along to nearly every track on this record by the second listen.
This record isnt anything special from a technical or creative perspective, I just really enjoyed it!
a beautiful pop album that has some cool moments like Overnight or Give A little and it may not be a pop changer but it's extremely enjoyable
Good! Don't have a lot to say really other than that it's solid. Fallingwater is a standout track for me though.
1 | Give A Little 3:46 | 77 |
2 | Overnight 3:20 | 80 |
3 | The Knife 3:59 | 78 |
4 | Alaska 3:08 | 85 |
5 | Light On 3:53 | 84 |
6 | Past Life 3:36 | 70 |
7 | Say It 3:40 | 84 |
8 | On + Off 3:41 | 81 |
9 | Fallingwater 4:31 | 86 |
10 | Retrograde 4:11 | 76 |
11 | Burning 3:33 | 77 |
12 | Back In My Body 4:09 | 80 |
#3 | / | Idolator |
#5 | / | Billboard |
#15 | / | Gigwise |
#17 | / | Uproxx |
#23 | / | Chorus.fm |
#24 | / | The Wild Honey Pie |
#25 | / | Complex |
#26 | / | Paste |
#27 | / | Gaffa (Sweden) |
#28 | / | Consequence of Sound |