Maggie Rogers – Heard It in a Past Life

Earlier this year when this album was released, my daughter recommended it to me.  The first few listens didn’t hook me and then it clicked, I got it.  Maggie Rogers fuses a folkie singer-songwriter groove with EDM in a totally natural way. It sounds familiar and unique at the same time. Her backstory is remarkable, per Vogue:

Maggie Rogers had not written music for nearly three years when, in a cascade of creativity this past March (2016) it took her fifteen minutes to produce a song called “Alaska.” Four days later, Rogers, then a senior at NYU, played the track—which combines the confessional lyricism of folk music with a trotting electronic rhythm—in a master class hosted by Pharrell Williams. “Wow. I have zero, zero, zero notes for that,” Williams said afterward, almost teary-eyed. “It’s singular. . . . And that is such a special quality.” The video went viral.

It is pure pop with an underlying authenticity – ultimately it has a hippie vibe.  Somehow, it works without being contrived or sounding precious. Pretty amazing stuff.

I have seen Rogers perform on various TV shows and her Coachella 2019 live stream. Turns out, she delivers live too with a charming quirky presence and intensity.  She is blowing up on the pop scene and you should believe the hype.