While studying at New York University’s Tisch school of the arts, whose alumni include Lady Gaga and <person>Childish Gambino</person>, Maryland songwriter <person>Maggie Rogers</person> performed her song Alaska for her class’s mentor, <person>Pharrell Williams</person>. His intense reaction sent the clip, and the song, viral. <person>Rogers</person>’s wildly accelerated career since has been about riding and directing that initial rocket-boost, with disproportionate acclaim greeting her debut EP of electronic pop. Her Greg Kurstin-produced debut album, despite <person>Pharrell</person>’s tears over her “singular” style, in truth sounds all too familiar.
The dominant mood is plaintive, emotive, chilled alternative R&B of the sort popularised by London Grammar and their ilk, with a strong leaning towards the yearning synthpop of her friends <person>Muna</person> on Light On and Retrograde. The best songs – Give a Little, Say It, On + Off, lean harder into the hip-hop grooves, <person>Rogers</person>’s strong and soulful voice gaining a bit of grit. Overnight and The Knife, however, fall into melodic predictability, Fallingwater drowns a more interesting structure in ersatz gospel and Past Life, the overportentous, dragged-out ballad at the album’s heart, reminds you that viral doesn’t always mean catchy.