The second month of the new year has started off strong with an early spring predicted by the one and only Punxsutawney Phil! But what may be more exciting is the major new music releases and announcements of upcoming release dates.
For a while, many artists have been teasing fans on TikTok and Instagram with only brief clips and morsels of new music — all of which fans devoured. Noah Kahan and Maggie Rogers’s followers, often an overlapping fanbase, had been losing it over snippets of Kahan’s “Forever” and Rogers’s “Don’t Forget Me.” The wait was beyond worth it.
Kahan’s song “Forever” was released with Stick Season (Forever), a deluxe edition of Kahan’s album Stick Season that contains collaborations with artists such as Lizzy McAlpine, Post Malone, and Gracie Abrams. I’d argue that “Forever” is one of Kahan’s best tracks to date, with hauntingly stunning lyrics and a slow build to the climax of the song.
The song has a heartbeat throughout — a quiet pulse at the beginning that eventually pounds rhythmically with intentional drums and percussion. The acoustic guitar and banjo chords paired with the intensifying heartbeat of percussion along with Kahan’s raw vocal style create a magnifying song that transcends time. In my opinion, it’s pure and lasting art.
Maggie Rogers, an alternative/indie artist who exists in a genre realm similar to Kahan, dropped a single entitled “Don’t Forget Me” on Feb. 8. Rogers’s storytelling ability and vocal control shine on this track. The song expresses a longing to find her next love and a request for this person to make a promise not to forget her when the relationship comes to an end.
The song is very versatile in listening — appropriate for both a peaceful Sunday morning coffee walk or a post-breakup karaoke (screaming) night. “Don’t Forget Me” is only the title track of Rogers’s upcoming album, which will be released on April 12, so mark your calendars!
In addition to Kahan and Rogers, there is still more to be excited about.
Kacey Musgraves just released the title track “Deeper Well” for her upcoming album. It is a peaceful and calming song with a hard-hitting message about growing up and finding peace within oneself. The tranquil essence of the song mirrors the feeling of finding peace after letting go of artificial habits and people that no longer serve you.
Musgraves puts it perfectly in the lyrics, “I’m sayin’ goodbye to the people that I feel are real good at wastin’ my time/No regrets, baby, I just think that maybe you go your way and I’ll go mine.”
I think we can all use the advice from this song, whether it’s time to let go of some people or things in your life, or even if you just need to invest more in your relationship with yourself. I applaud Musgraves for the vulnerability she showed with this stunning song about her own journey of growing up.
Finally, as I’m sure all of you already know, Taylor Swift dropped a brand new album announcement bomb on Feb. 4 at the Grammy Awards, proving that she is always plotting some surprise. While we all have to wait until April 19 to get destroyed by The Tortured Poet’s Department, I think its impending release gives us all some more motivation to push through the drudgery of the last of the winter months.
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