Heard It in a Past Life
by Maggie Rogers
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Jan 18, 2019
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
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  1. Consequence
    Jan 11, 2019
    83
    It’s clear that Rogers took her time to create a project that encompassed her journey thus far and is bursting with energy and daring you to dance. More so, she doesn’t stray from slower, emotional ballads like “Past Life”, a track that bears a resounding similarity to early Stevie Nicks, proving the duality of her craft. If anything, this record is a formal announcement: Maggie Rogers is here to stay.
  2. PopMatters
    Feb 12, 2019
    80
    Her singing provides the album's highlights. The instrumentation and production only serve to accent her voice and sadly often detract from the experience.
  3. Variety
    Jan 22, 2019
    80
    The Kurstin tracks are as irresistible as you’d expect if you know his track record, but the assortment of other co-producers who drift in for a track or two also serve her well and know enough to place the beauty of her voice starkly in the forefront.
  5. AllMusic
    Jan 18, 2019
    80
    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.
  6. Clash Music
    Jan 17, 2019
    80
    It sticks in the mind for a good while after and just keeps bringing you back in with fantastic production, brilliant pop songwriting and a central personality as easy to like and support as any on the current music scene.
  7. Exclaim
    Jan 17, 2019
    80
    Rogers rises to the occasion, making herself and her mixture of emotions the anchor of songs whose music moves at an unending pace.
  8. Rolling Stone
    Jan 16, 2019
    80
    Rogers never once loses sight of that story [perpetual self-change] on Heard It In a Past Life, and the result is a laser-focused statement with nary a wasted lyric or synth line.
  9. Glide Magazine
    Jan 16, 2019
    80
    Rogers is well on her way to inhabit the bright spotlights of stardom with her affecting lyrics, strong vocals, and gorgeous soundscapes of dance floor filling tunes.
  10. DIY Magazine
    Jan 15, 2019
    80
    The record finds a way of making her atypical pop sit comfortably in the mainstream, offering something genuinely new. Coming a long way since sitting adjacent to Pharrell in the studio at NYU, Maggie Rogers has certainly found her own voice.
  11. Q Magazine
    Jan 11, 2019
    80
    This thoughtfully constructed and often enchanting record manages to mark itself out from the crowd. [Feb 2019, p.110]
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  12. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jan 11, 2019
    80
    On the intoxicating Heard It In A Past Life, Rogers sounds in love with art, nature and life itself.
  13. Paste Magazine
    Jan 22, 2019
    79
    The charts are starved for something real and down-to-earth, and her songs, while heavily produced in comparison to some of her folksier beginnings, have an earnestness to them that can’t be fabricated. Rogers’ career may have first sparked on the internet, but now it’s a fire burning IRL.
  14. The Line of Best Fit
    Jan 25, 2019
    75
    The magic by which we were all spellbound in those early days remains, now augmented by a newfound range of diverse influences. Rogers writes anthems for the modern age, with all the paradoxical feelings of empowerment, anxiety, heartbreak and growth that that entails.
  15. Chicago Tribune
    Jan 25, 2019
    63
    Rogers is listed as coproducer throughout, but her distinctiveness only comes through when Kurstin and some of his other high-profile production accomplices (Kid Harpoon, Ricky Reed) take the day off. ... In contrast, Kurstin--with Rogers listed as a co-conspirator--swamps many of the remaining tracks in virtual choirs of wordless backing vocals and squiggling, squirming keyboard and synthesizer textures.

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Most Discussed Album of 2019

User Reviews

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User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 122 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 103 out of 122
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 122
  3. Negative: 9 out of 122
  1. petcheeta
    Jan 18, 2019
    10
    Maggie Rogers's debut album is already one of the best project you're going to listen this whole year. Her creative way of tell a story insideMaggie Rogers's debut album is already one of the best project you're going to listen this whole year. Her creative way of tell a story inside melodies is actually her most powerful way of conquer our hearts with her well-produced sound. Since songs we've already know ("Alaska" and "On+Off") to singles we respect and sing with our souls out ("Fallingwater" and "Light On"), the album gain strength and keep on focus all the time. Also I hope "The Knife", "Retrogade" and/or "Burnign" to be the projects' future singles. Can I say it's perfect? Yes, I can.… Full Review »
  2. sammyanthony
    Feb 13, 2019
    4
    Heard It in a Past Life is overall a crude, abruptly executed left-field pop project. Those production elements were all so selfish, wanted toHeard It in a Past Life is overall a crude, abruptly executed left-field pop project. Those production elements were all so selfish, wanted to take dominance, resulted in nothing but extreme dissonance. There's also no stopping in Maggie Rogers' mundane response, not even letting the mess to shut up. It's overproduced.

    Yet things can get better; the moments when the modest Alaska, On + Off, and Fallingwater start to kick in. For the best, please kick Greg Kurstin out of your next project, Maggie.    … Full Review »
  3. amandaaraujo_
    Jan 18, 2019
    10
    It sticks in the mind for a good while after and just keeps bringing you back in with fantastic production, brilliant pop songwriting and aIt sticks in the mind for a good while after and just keeps bringing you back in with fantastic production, brilliant pop songwriting and a central personality as easy to like and support as any on the current music scene.… Full Review »
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