Maggie Rogers reflects on past loves and the passage of time in ‘Don’t Forget Me’

Words by Julia Norton

Beloved indie artist Maggie Rogers has finally released her highly anticipated third studio album Don’t Forget Me, and I am delighted to remark that this record features some of Rogers’ best work so far. As soon as she released the album’s first single, the record’s titular track “Don’t Forget Me” back in February, I knew that this album held great potential. Each track on the album blends together with the overarching themes of growing up, moving on, and looking back with a new perspective, while also carrying sonic diversity that distinguishes each track as its own story to tell. Listening to the album in full, it’s as if we are sitting side by side with Rogers herself as she sifts through a box of photographs capturing memories throughout her twenties. It is raw storytelling that is not all explicitly from Rogers’ own experiences, but there are clear elements of truth in the perspectives shared throughout.

The record starts off with Maggie Rogers’ most powerful opening track yet, “It Was Coming All Along”, which details a reality check on the passage of time accompanied by instrumentals that feel like the opening sequence of a coming of age film. At the end of her 20s, Rogers is realizing how quickly life has gone by since the start of her music career immediately after graduating college. The lyrics “So fast, it’s fading out of view/I’m flying long past twenty-two” resonates immensely, as I recently turned twenty-two myself, the same age that Rogers’ music career started picking up. Caught in a whirlwind of success and rapid change, Rogers grounds herself through this song, and notices how much has shifted in what felt like a short amount of time.

Rogers then transitions into “Drunk”, an energetic track that follows, if not sprints, after Rogers while she’s stuck in her own world and ignoring the outside voices trying to slow her down or bring some reason to her “wishful thinking”. Being “on the run” is a repetitive motif throughout the album, as Rogers is attempting to escape certain memories, situations, people, and reality. The second single released for the record, “So Sick of Dreaming” is another song with a mature perspective on some of the difficult people we come across in life and love. One of my favorite parts of this track is the bridge, a one-take voicemail Rogers admits was an “instrumental placeholder” on a newsletter sent out to fans. This section was ultimately kept on the track, only furthering Rogers' signature element of fun and playfulness found throughout her discography.

Track 4, “The Kill” is something special. It describes a push/pull relationship between the narrator and her partner where both are at fault for the instability between them. Rogers switches the pronouns used in the chorus each time it is repeated, starting accusatory with “you” and putting the partner at blame first, then “I”, in which the narrator reflects on her own mistakes, and ends with “we”, looking at the situation from both sides and recognizing the part that both have played in the turmoil. The lyrical structure that packs a punch and the instrumentals reminiscent of 70s and 80s soft rock makes “The Kill” one of the most memorable tracks on the record.

Next on the tracklist is “If Now Was Then”, a contemplation of what if’s and wondering if things could go back to the way they were. Rogers concludes at the end of the song that it is for the better that what happened stays in the past, even if there was contentment shared at the time. “I Still Do” continues with the theme of growing out of a relationship, and is one of the more emotional ballads on the album, showcasing the sonic range Rogers successfully achieves amongst the ten tracks. This track shows that love can linger long after a relationship has faded out, especially when the conflict is simply two people growing apart during the passage of time. In contrast, “On & On & On'' takes a look at an unhealthy relationship with an unfit partner, causing the narrator to completely cut them out of her life for her own wellbeing. With retrospective clarity, Rogers hopes that this person has realized their harmful behavior, but also considers that her ex may not have had endured a similar level of personal growth since.

“Never Going Home” is the epitome of the nervous anticipation you feel before a big night out with your closest friends. From the perspective of being newly single and getting back out there, Rogers writes a captivating bridge that shows the difficulty of shaking off the feelings you still hold for someone that was not ready to commit while trying to meet new people:

You get to talking, but those lips aren’t your lips/We lean together, those hips aren’t your hips/When we’re out in the back and I’m catching my breath/I close my eyes to forget all the rest

After a relatively upbeat collection of songs, Maggie Rogers hits the breaks and uses her lyricism as the focal point of the last two tracks on the album. Track 9 is “All The Same”, a gentle tune with a soft acoustic guitar and piano supporting lyricism about noticing where you are in the present. The album ends with “Don’t Forget Me”, and after listening in full, hearing this song last allows us to understand why Rogers chose the name as the album title. As the most self aware song on the record, Rogers is honest in her fears of being left behind while the people in her life are making significant changes and moving forward on their own paths. She is seeing her friends in happy, committed relationships, and longing for the feeling of being loved by someone in the way that she now knows is healthy for her. Throughout the album, Rogers proves her strength in her songwriting ability when it comes to the bridges, and her words in the final bridge of the album reveals how she views love at this point of her life:

And maybe I’m dead wrong/Maybe I was bitter from the winter all along/Maybe there’s a stranger standing, holding out for love/Just waiting on the next street/Just for me

Don’t forget me” are the final words sung on the album, one last plea from Maggie Rogers to stay in the narrative of her loved ones’ stories, and possibly as a musician in a fast changing industry. Rogers somehow creates a sense of nostalgia within the comfort and warmth of this album that makes it familiar, yet somehow completely refreshing within her discography. We listen to Rogers express her reluctance towards change and hopes for the future, and the lessons she learned in the relationships that have come and gone in her youth. Rogers reminds us that change is inevitable, and it is up to us whether to use our memories as a safety net, or guidance towards the experiences we will have in the future. Maggie Rogers is an artist that will not soon be forgotten, and I am thrilled to live through the successful, difficult, and emotional times that every human being faces in their twenties with the reassurance from her music that everything is an opportunity to learn and grow into the person I am meant to be.

Don’t Forget Me was released April 12th, 2024 and is available for streaming on all music platforms. Maggie Rogers suggests via Instagram to listen to the album in full on “a long drive or a morning walk”, and I would highly recommend rolling your windows down on a sunny spring afternoon or letting yourself be present in nature during your listening experience.

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