I understand Magdalena Bay now.

 Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
Album Review

    Here on this blog you'll usually see me review artists I know well and enjoy their discographies, rare are the exceptions to that rule (hence why I usually review albums that I rate highly, it's by design). But when it comes to Magdalena Bay I never quite got the hype behind their music. I saw so many people in my small indie pop circle talk about how great Mercurial World was and I personally didn't understand it upon listening. Needless to say I wasn't as excited as some of my indie pop peers when it came to this new release, Imaginal Disk. Though upon first checking it I had an experience that can only truly be described as divine. from track 1 to the closer, I never expected Magbay could reach such heights, but the pop duo challenged me to a duel and I lost, grinning from ear to ear.

    The Florida duo, formed by singer Mica Tenenbaum and producer Matthew Lewin, have become a known quantity in the underground pop sphere, since their mini mixes 1 and 2 they have cultivated a cult following, not only for their characteristic synthpop sound and Mica's charmingly high tone, but also for their aesthetic and DIY advertisement. Releasing very fun and savy TikToks to promote their music. Their debut, Mercurial World, was really well recieved by critics and fans alike. After that they went on a US tour, collaborated with different artists and even produced a track off of Lil Yachty's "Let's Start Here", "running out of time".

    Mercurial Disk comes as an evolution of the sound they have harvested in their 3 EPs and debut album, but adding elements of Progressive Rock and adventuring deeper in the realm of Neo-Pychedelia. Most of it comes in the form of Dance bangers with your occasional slow burner, like "Vampire in The Corner" "Angel On A Satelite" and "The Ballad of Matt & Mica". Though most of the juice of the album lays on its bangers, and that's for a reason, the slow burners help a lot with the pacing of the album and are individually just as good of tracks as the earwormers and dancefloor tunes.

    "She Looked Like Me!" opens the album displaying a lot of the elements that make this album special, the sounds on it are very synthetic, almost like a game, and most of the LP lives in that place of surreal sounds, so much so that when a real guitar, bass or acoustic drums come in, they have a lot of room to breathe. It's that bounce between the heavily synthetic elements and live sounding elements that bring a psychedelic tone to the whole project.

    The album evolves well with "Killing Time" featuring one of the many eargasms on the album, and they never sound quite like each other, at times it comes from an electric guitar, like in this track, which is also comped with some very nice vocals, but at other times it's all in the hands of the vocals, like in "Tunnel Vision", other times in the hands of the synths, like in "Death & Romance". Those moments are all well timed within the song and the project as a whole. Which leads me to my next point;

    The whole album feels very purposeful. Everything in it seems like it was made with a purpose and no corner is left unchecked. The ride in "Death & Romance" for example is used again in "Vampire In The Corner" and "Fear, Sex", which as a whole is a continuation of Death & Romance, and in it there's an arpeggio breakdown which is again used in "Cry for Me".

    "Image" is the first recognizable banger on the album, it sounds very house-like, with dance drums and a lot of space, the sound doesn't feel too crowded (a characteristic of house music) and the vocals are static on the verses. The chorus on the other hand is very active and I dream about dancing to it live, it's one of the most characteristic hooks and sticks in your head for days. On this song you'll also notice that the lyricism is really vague and other-worldly. It's a feature of the album, that adds to the psychedelic vibes on the whole project and make you go on a trip through your mind, I guess.

    "Tunnel Vision" is another one of the more floaty tracks on the setlist, with the harp arpeggi, fluid drums and a breakdown one can only describe as electrifying, with the drums rising in tone and complexity and the siren-like synths eating the whole mix while Mica stands in the background with her screaming vocals.

    One of the things that keep the album fresh despite its consistent flow and elements, is Mica's vocals, not only in how they are sang, but also in how they are mixed; sometimes with tons of reverb, with a vocoder accompanying... But her range, mainly in form, is impressive and by far the most catchy element of the album.

    The track that displays that perfectly is "Love Is Everywhere", a disk ballad that in the chorus has Mica breathing, some backing vocals, some lower pitched accompanying vocals... that along with an active drum line and slapped bass makes for a very savy song, despite for it not being a high tempo song.

    "That's My Floor" finishes displaying the skills of the duo, with a headbanger focused on rock instrumentals. It's my favourite track on Imaginal disk, mainly due to how simple it is. That track is then followed by the end section of the album, of which "Cry for Me" is the most impressive of all, with a very withery feel to it that catches you attention to the end, as well as an 80's vibe that accompanies the track into a fade-out. 

    I'm very happy to see to where Magbay got with this album, and I'm very excited with their tour prospects and their next projects as a duo, as they are one of the most exciting projects around in the underground Pop sphere

High 9/10 

Favourite Tracks: Image, Death & Romance, Love Is Everywhere, That's My Floor, Cry For Me.