Surrender

All of it sounds supremely organic and works as a further interpolation of the soulful pop she embraced on Heard It in a Past Life. Surrender is the sound of Rogers coming into her complete self as an artist and choosing to be the positive force for good that she wants to see in both the pop and real worlds.

With Surrender, Rogers has refused to do just that, defying the pull of monotony and cliché, crafting instead her masterpiece.

Surrender is the album that Maggie Rogers needs right now. It’s one that shows how much she’s grown as an artist, how much her voice is capable of, and how she can exercise her ability to transcend in only a few notes.

If Heard It in a Past Life was the culmination of the Maggie Rogers who broke through from indie folk artist to viral sensation; Surrender sounds more secure and less eager to prove itself.

Rogers is rejuvenated, and full of ideas, and thankfully, it seems she is here to stay.

Occasionally this can leave you longing for something less overblown, but this is Rogers 2.0: dancing sweatily in NYC karaoke bars and singing lines such as “sucking nicotine down my throat/ thinking of you giving head” (on new track Horses) and rocking out. Letting rip suits her.

Perhaps ‘Shatter’ is almost too powerful. Once it’s over, the rest of the album feels much more muted – still pretty, still pleasant, still thought-provoking, but like the energy that came before has been spent.

From the lyrical outpouring of questions and realisations, to the emotions encapsulated by these instrumental vignettes and thoughtful production, you get the sense that Maggie is at home here in this state of experimentation and consideration.

‘Surrender’ proves Maggie can use motifs from the past to build worlds and stimulate memories while always looking forward.

An emphatic and generally more unbuttoned sophomore project. The “surrender” here appears to be two-pronged: First, a submission to the songwriting process itself, as this record is markedly more explorative than the last, particularly in its crunching British rock sensibilities. ... Many of the album’s most affecting moments accompany her urgency to hit the road.

Even if Surrender and HIIAPL aren’t 100% dynamite from start to finish, it’s clear Rogers is consistently capable of creating special (and yes, spiritual) moments in pop music. On Surrender, Rogers is in communion with her collaborators and her listeners, and that’s a path to something lasting.

On Surrender, she sounds renewed, submitting to the pull of her heart without apology.

It seems to reflect what the 28-year-old singer-songwriter is most interested in at this very moment, which appears to be a blend of Nineties alt-rock and turn-of-the-century shopping-mall pop. [Jul - Aug 2022, p.117]