Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me

Partially inspired by the artist’s own experiences – diaristic in a way, imbued with nostalgia and slices of her past selves – partially a fictional character’s journey of self-discovery, in Don’t Forget Me Maggie Rogers finds a great balance between introspection and action. Looking inward whilst moving on and looking forward; looking at the road ahead, while the listener can close their eyes and enjoy the pop-folk ride, as if on a car trip with Rogers and her friends and characters.

The album was co-produced by the singer-songwriter and Ian Fitchuk, who also co-wrote eight of the ten tracks. There’s a raw authenticity to the sound and lyrics, reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, that can be attributed to the making process itself: most of them are first takes, and part of a deliberate decision to record for the sake of telling all these stories waiting to come out, rather than wanting to make a perfectly polished album. In the end, it pays off.

The powerful opening track, It Was Coming All Along, is one of the highlights: pop meets country folk, telling a personal yet universal story of heartbreak and healing. Similarly fast-paced and raw comes Drunk: it makes one want to stand up and dance while shouting the words out of the car window. This is the one that will certainly be a treat to see being performed live. Towards the middle of this journey, the pace then slows down for the more introspective moments of the album: staring out of the window and soaking it all in, mouthing words through closed lips instead of shouting them. I Still Do is one of those moments: a spine-chilling piano ballad. It is singular for its evocative power. A whisky-scented room, photographs strewn across the floor; the lyrics are simple yet poignant, with authentic emotions flowing out of Rogers’ voice.

The titular track, Don’t Forget Me, comes at the very end, as a final and definite punch in the guts. It is both a plea to a past lover – “I get this feeling like I’m fading from your memory / So I wrote this song and called it ‘Don’t Forget Me; / Every time you hear it, will you smile?” – and a conversation with herself, as if taken from a page of her diary. Rogers is addressing someone while also talking to everyone who’s ever gone through a specific phase of heartbreak: the fear of fading from the other’s memories, and trying to keep those memories alive through art. Not an attempt to get back together, but a way to honour and cherish a love that once was. 

Overall, Don’t Forget Me has some superb storytelling that confirms this artist’s talent for adapting life as well as fiction into music.

Benedetta Mancusi
Image: Margaret Eshalman

Don’t Forget Me is released on 12^th April 2024. For further information or to order the album visit Maggie Rogers’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Don’t Forget Me here: