INDIE-ROCKER MAGGIE ROGERS says she feels her emotions in her teeth: Anger and love make her gums pulse and jaw tighten. Rogers’ second studio album, Surrender, is testament to what happens when we unclench our jaws and give our emotions room to breathe.
“This is the story of what happened when I finally gave in,” Rogers said in the trailer for Surrender. The result is a cohesive journey through the many questions that plague our grief-stricken culture. Offering both solace and space for unanswered questions, the album, released last summer, is an invitation to dance — to surrender to the coexistence of beauty and suffering in the world.
Surrender is versatile. Tracks like “Shatter” (featuring vocals from Florence Welch) and “Want Want” are reminiscent of Patti Smith headbangers, but Rogers also offers reflective, settled-down selections like “Symphony,” where she mentions working with a therapist, and “Anywhere With You,” which will make you feel like riding shotgun, windows down, in the comfortable car of an old friend.
Rogers’ sophomore album captures an artistic mastery that was missing from her previous release, Heard It in a Past Life. Now her songs offer spacious creativity and spiritual exploration — the type of depth one might tap into at, perhaps, seminary.
In 2020, Rogers traded in New York City for the pine trees and brisk waters of coastal Maine. At that time, she enrolled in Harvard Divinity School’s (HDS) two-year religion and public life program. Of her decision to explore spirituality and religion, Rogers said in an interview with The New York Times: “I wanted to build a framework for myself, for how to keep art sacred ... When I’m in the crowd of fans or onstage, that’s when I felt the most connected to something greater than myself.”
While at HDS, Rogers studied with naturalist and writer-in-residence Terry Tempest Williams. She took classes on “Finding Beauty in a Broken World” and focused her work on “the spirituality of public gatherings” and “the ethics of power in pop culture.” My favorite track on the album, “Begging for Rain,” captures the unique Sisyphean task of theology: “You work all day to find religion / And end up standing in your kitchen / Wondering ’bout the way it’s always been.”
Holding the complexity of wonder, worry, and awe is also present in the album’s closer, “Different Kind of World.” In this track, Rogers confesses that her hands shake, knees ache, and back breaks when thinking about the state of the world. Here she cues the catharsis: Deep electric guitar, smashing drums, and prayerful poetry swell. “One last song, I’ll sing a song / and make it a song for peace / Though we all may carry on / May we do so decently,” she sings as a benediction.
Religion offers the power of ritual to create moments of connection with self, God, and one another. Rogers understands this power, wielding her gift of songwriting for the examination and release of complex emotions. As the state of the world gives reason for our palms to sweat, Surrender offers an alternative: Ride the flow of emotions with your hands unclenched; use your lungs to breathe good air; let your teeth bite into love, pain, joy; dance; cry; surrender.
Rev. Kaeley McEvoy is the the fellowship program director and staff chaplain at Sojourners.
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