Heard It in a Past Life is the debut studio album for Maggie Rogers, an artist who has all the qualities of an emerging indie guru. Prior to the album release she had already produced two singles, which were melodic masterpieces in a unique style of alternative pop.
The two singles, “On + Off” and “Alaska” were released 3 years ago, which gave fans more than enough time to build anticipation for more. Rogers definitely delivered to high hopes with all twelve pop-oriented tracks in Heard It in a Past Life. This introspective album holds a pure form of positively contagious energy, all thanks to the radiation of good vibes in the musical composition.
Euphoric Energy
Maggie Rogers weaves unique transitions and fresh choruses into each song, clearly establishing her artistic style. The sixth song on the album, “Past Life,” is an exception to this, as it is composed solely with piano and voice. Despite not following the wave of synthetic sounds like the rest of the songs, it still fits within the album’s theme and provides a good kind of variation. Aside from that change of tempo, the other songs render a soothing kind of happiness, which fits into indie music’s low-profile reputation for being a feel-good genre. Maggie Rogers is already establishing her place in the indie realm with her debut album, which can only make fans excited for what’s to come from her in the future. Additionally, Heard It in a Past Life gives off a true free-spirited vibe which was a perfectly timed release for those of us struggling with seasonal depression; this exhilarating album serves as the perfect mood-booster.
To complement the musical compositions, Rogers possesses a gentle yet powerful voice that’s enough to give you chills, especially when she shows off the high end of her vocal range. Her singing gives just as much life to her songs as the synthetic arrangements do. Many songs even feature her voice overlapped with itself to form angelic harmonies, which produce a completely euphoric experience for listeners. These harmonies have a power of entrancement, much like Lorde’s signature harmonies in most of her produced songs. In some cases, that might even be considered the best part of the song. Two examples of the Lorde-like vocals from Heard It in a Past Life are the tracks “Overnight” and “The Knife.” The ringing of background voices is subtle, but it adds to the music’s unique style and makes it even more interesting.
Maggie Rogers undoubtedly holds genuine talent when it comes to expression and energy. The energy that her music gives off strongly reflects the resilience that Florence Welch is famous for. Welch has a contagious spirit when it comes to music, and Rogers echoes that full-of-life attitude in her songs.
Rogers abstractly reproduces the same kind of influential power that both Lorde and Florence Welch have to captivate listeners and touch souls through music. That’s not to say Rogers is copying their style, she simply possesses the same gift when it comes to moving her audience. The major differences between Rogers and the aforementioned artists are merely genre and lyrics.
Low-key lackluster lyrics
Maggie Rogers truly speaks through her music. Her true form of expression lies within the melodies, not so much the lyrics. There is power behind the lyrical meaning in the songs, but the depth in verse is subpar; it isn’t necessarily true poetry. Be that as it may, that fact is overshadowed by the captivating tunes anyway. It’s almost hard to focus on lyrics when you’re already entertained enough by the lively music.
The theme behind Heard It in a Past Life is very introspective on the subject of relationships – it maintains themes of dominating self-awareness and a struggle to hold onto love. Despite being mainly about love, the lyrics still portray a very liberating energy. This kind of vibe is hard to come by, especially with new artists. Not only did this prove to be a personal creative outlet for Rogers to express her feelings, it’s also publicly favored by those who find it relatable.
Impatiently awaiting more
In the world of indie music, Heard It in a Past Life has received phenomenal feedback. Maggie Rogers is one of few rising stars who don’t seem to be coming into the music industry looking for fame. Her focal point lies on the music she’s creating and being expressive, which is arguably one of the best traits a composer can have. She has talent and this debut album does a great job of showing it. No matter how long it takes, it’ll be worth the wait for the next one.
Recommended if you like:
Borns
LEON
King Princess
Top Tracks:
“On + Off”
“Alaska”
“Falling Water”
Featured Image: Amazon
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