Sporadically, we come across an album that feels like a warm embrace—that feels like an embodiment of vibrance and joy yet feels so gripping that it manages to stop us in our tracks. Rarely do we come across an album that is all of that and manages to be abstract enough that it rewards repeat listens, unraveling in interesting ways with a gamut of possible interpretations.
What I am trying to say here is that if you haven’t listened to ‘Imaginal Disk’ by Magdalena Bay, do yourself a favor, stop what you are doing, and listen to this album front to back!
Magdalena Bay, the duo consisting of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, based out of Los Angeles, gathered a sizable fanbase online with their idiosyncratic music content on TikTok and their embracement of all things glitchy and DIY (their records are mostly self-produced). With their early EPs and singles, they hinted towards a more subversive take on synthpop, like earlier works of Charli XCX and Grimes (notably their excellent EP “A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling”). Their flair for making glittery pop with catchy hooks came into full force with their 2021 debut record “Mercurial World.” It was one of my favorite albums from that year, and I was stoked to see how MB follow that up.
“Imaginal Disk” somehow manages to be an improvement over “Mercurial World” on all fronts. The production is immaculate and detailed, the melodies are sticky and the performances are solid. There is a greater prevalence of organic instrumentation on this record. Overall, “Imaginal Disk” has the sheen of a progressive rock record, something that fans of bands like Chvrches or Tame Impala can immediately connect to. The songs flow seamlessly from one to the next. However, MB has developed a sonic style and landscape that feels unique to them.
The album loosely follows a concept: a girl named True Blue gets into a journey of self-discovery and love by having a disk inserted into her forehead by an alien doctor. Over the course of her journey, she realizes that the disk did not really do anything on its own, but her belief in its power made her believe in herself and made her achieve her full potential. If that sounds like a vague allegory for science or faith or astrology, maybe it is. The album is purposefully vague enough to garner mixed interpretations, but direct and definite enough to make us follow the journey of True Blue.
“She Looked At Me” opens the album with Mica crooning about qualities she would like to have, over a bed of twinkling keys and gradually booming bursts of synths that make way for a sprawling chorus. It segues into the airy, buttery-smooth “Killing Time” (“Without love, I’m without me/ I don’t know why, but we call it killing time”), which crescendos into an abrasive ending. “True Blue Interlude” serves as a spoken-word introduction to the character True Blue, over lush synths that sound so pristine that you would want it to last longer. However, MB leaves no space for us to feel bad, because it gets better. The next song “Image” is already getting some virality on the internet, and rightly so. It is a near flawless piece of pop music, and one of their best singles ever. “Death & Romance” is the space-rock odyssey that begs to be played in the loudest speakers, seamlessly followed by the subdued (but equally gorgeous) “Fear Sex.” MB’s songwriting dynamics shine through in the softer cuts as well, notably “Vampire In The Corner” (“Baby, you’re my rainy day that’s starting to flood/ My God, it’s only ’cause l love you too much”), “Watching TV” and “Angel On A Satellite.” “Watching TV” sounds like an MB take on a Beatles-esque ballad, which is all you need to know that it is a fantastic earworm.
In an album chock-full with dorky weirdness, “Tunnel Vision” stands out as the central prog fulcrum: it is messy and gorgeous. “Love Is Everywhere” is pure funk bliss (fans of Lil Yachty would recognize the bassline of this song, directly reminiscent of his song “Running Out Of Time”—which Mica and Matt produced). “Cry For Me” is another high point of the album— consider ABBA doing a Scissor Sisters song, garnished with an overdose of auditory bliss.
The magic does not diminish throughout the album–“That’s My Floor” is the party rock anthem of this album, while being cynical (“I could really learn to look alive/ Never really noticed I’m the transcendental type”). The closer “The Ballad of Matt & Mica” repeats the motif of the opener “She Looked At Me” and paints a cute picture of the couple—two creative souls in a new town, aiming to make music they like and hoping to leave a mark that is not ordinary. It leaves you with a smile when you realize that Mica and Matt have achieved something extraordinary that will be talked about for years to come.
If “Imaginal Disk” is a sign of a band still growing, I am stoked to see what their future output would be. This album was an experience unlike any other I had this year, and that is saying something in a year we got some stellar pop records from the likes of Charli XCX, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and many more. Let me assure you, no number of words can capture the euphoric pleasure I got from listening to this album. Research, friendships, family, sports and politics all feel like trivialities that are keeping me away from the true purpose of my life right now: listening to “Imaginal Disk” by Magdalena Bay over and over again.