Maggie Rogers released her third studio album, “Don’t Forget Me,” on Friday, April 12. At just about 36 minutes, “Don’t Forget Me” is short and sweet — and the perfect album for a spring drive.

In a newsletter Rogers sent out to her fans on Feb. 9, she explained that while writing the album, she started to imagine a girl on a roadtrip who was leaving home and starting a new chapter in her life. In the end, Rogers created something that she said felt like “coming home.” 

“I wanted to make an album that sounded like a Sunday afternoon. Worn in denim. A drive in your favorite car. No makeup, but the right amount of lipstick. Something classic,” Rogers said, “A trusted friend who could ride shotgun and be there when you needed her.” 

After listening to “Don’t Forget Me” over the weekend, I can say that Rogers succeeded at her goal. I can already tell that this will be an album that I will play on a sunny day with the windows of my Subaru down, and I have already added some of the songs to my road trip playlist. 

The first track is “It Was Coming All Along.” Rogers describes the inevitability of change, whether it is moving away from a childhood home or going through a breakup, “So high, can’t find the moment it went wrong/But it was coming all along.”

The second track of the album is “Drunk,” which features a catchy beat and Rogers’ gritty vocals. Rogers pulls the listener in during the pre chorus, singing, “And I see stars that never, ever, ever looked this bright to me/Feeling on your skin never felt this right to me.”

“So Sick of Dreaming” has the same country twang as a song from Kacey Musgraves’ album “Golden Hour.” Rogers wrote this song after her friend told her about someone who did her wrong. From the perspective of her friend, Rogers describes the feeling of having enough of someone’s mistreatment, “Oh, cause I’m so sick of dreamin’/And I’m all that I’m needin’.”

Rogers’ storytelling lyricism comes out in the song “The Kill,” which describes the mutual ending of a relationship. In the first chorus, she expresses how she was more invested in the relationship than the other person, “I was all the way in, you were halfway out the door/Oh, I was an animal making my way up the hill/And you were going in for the kill.” In the second chorus, Rogers switches the roles, emphasizing the mutual need to end the relationship. 

In “If Now Was Then,” Rogers reflects on a relationship and what she would do differently if she could go back in time, “Oh, the things I’d do, oh, if now was then/But you can’t take it back.”

Rogers slows things down with the track “I Still Do,” which is also about the end of a relationship. She is telling the other person that although they need to be apart in order to grow, she still loves them. 

“On & On & On” and “Never Going Home” describe the anger that comes with losing a neglectful partner. “On & On & On” has the feeling of an angry early 2000s country song, like “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood, as Rogers sings, “When you realize the things that you lack, better think twice ‘fore callin’ me back.”

In “Never Going Home,” Rogers describes going out and being reminded of an old partner, but then remembering how they mistreated her. In the lyric, “And time’s got a way of letting you know,” she expresses how she knew it was time for the relationship to end.

The album slows down again with the ballad “All The Same.” Rogers perfectly captures the passage of time and realizing how fast it has gone. Again, she is reflecting on the time she spent with this ex partner and wondering if it would have worked out if they gave her more time.

The concluding song of the album is the title track, which was also released as a single in February. Despite it being a single, it might be one of the best songs on the record. Rogers asks for simplicity, “A good lover, or someone who’s nice to me/Take my money, wreck my Sundays/Love me ‘til your next somebody.” She is willing to give up the simple things, like her money and her Sundays, for love — as long as it is worth it, “Oh, but promise me that when it’s time to leave/Don’t forget me.” 

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