How does water fall? Two ways: Gradually and then suddenly. Breaking into the music industry isn’t so different. Two years since a Pharrell-assisted viral video catapulted Maggie Rogers from Bandcamp-toiling coffeehouse folkie to burgeoning pop music phenom, Rogers takes control of her narrative on her new single, “Fallingwater.” In a handwritten note shared online, she described the song (which was produced and co-written with Rostam Batmanglij) as both “a cry for help and a battle cry” at the rapid changes in her life. By applying the gleaming folktronica of her 2017 EP Now That the Light Is Fading to lyrics about fighting the current, she gracefully accomplishes the straightforward goal from her letter.
But “Fallingwater” isn’t exactly straightforward. The first part of the song is fairly restrained, gentle keys and stuttering drum loops placing most of the spotlight on Rogers’ sumptuous vocals as she elaborates on the song’s central, cascading metaphor. “I thought that I could take it from here,” she sings, her words clear and plainspoken. “Now it’s getting harder.” In the chorus, though, she sharpens her focus on another aspect of life, seemingly addressing a doomed relationship with that same quiet momentum. The back half of the song itself tumbles away uncontrollably, with handclaps, galloping percussion, and stacked vocal harmonies. It’s an appropriate ending for a song that builds on her promise, flowing toward whatever may lie ahead.
