Album Review: Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay

Riley Watkins

Music Journalist

Holed up somewhere in the dense metropolitan forest of Los Angeles exists Mica Tennenbaum and her synth-pop confidant Matthew Lewin, questioning the importance of integrity in the age of consumerism and algorithm-based content consumption. Who are you when no one’s watching? How much work do you complete when the boss isn’t breathing down your neck? How do you love someone when you are not being rewarded for it? Can all your questions be answered via the lasers that sew sound into the memory of a small aluminum disk? The invention of such a laserdisc is the most probable method of introspection for Magdalena Bay on their new record, Imaginal Disk. 

Tennenbaum and Lewin first developed a following under the moniker Magdalena Bay during the COVID-19 lockdown with the release of their single “Killshot” in 2019. The track’s bouncy and fun beat made it perfect for TikTok, being used in dances, thirst traps and fan-cams.  

Much like the other songs that blew up around the same time, “Killshot” fell victim to the infamous “Slowed + Reverb” rerelease trend, potentially writing the band off as possible one-hit wonders. However, Magdalena Bay never disappeared. Their 2021 release Mercurial World delivered endless dance grooves and songs like “You Lose!” that have so much 8-bit crunch that it would put Space Invaders to shame. 

When it came time to promote Imaginal Disk, the duo smartly embraced their presence on social media that was established by “Killshot.” All year they have been releasing cryptic promotional videos that are soaked in a kind of abnormality that can only be found in the deepest rabbit holes of your Instagram reels feed.  

This was a clever marketing tactic as it drew in the exact crowd that they were trying to speak to with the album: the chronically online. Specifically, “Watching T.V.” discusses the effects of media overconsumption with lyrics like “Too much watching TV, It’s gonna rot you from the inside out.” 

In case Mag Bay still flew under your radar, they emphatically reintroduce themselves within the first three minutes of Imaginal Disk on the track “She Looked Like Me!” There could not be a more perfect tone setter for the rest of the album, establishing that this is a new, more cinematic Magdalena Bay.  

Similar to the breakout albums of all the prog-rock bands that they’re influenced by, enter string arrangements! Live drums, horn players, large synths, oh my! The introduction track also holds its weight in establishing the album’s narrative, bringing Tennenbaum face to face with another version of herself: “We stood mirrored ‘til I leaned in, And then, you know what she did? She shot at me like an earthbound bullet.”  

While this premise may seem dramatically sci-fi in nature, it’s an inventive way for Tennenbaum to use the creation of this album to reflect upon herself, her perception and her beliefs. 

The following track “Killing Time” is a major highlight, featuring punchy drums and a bassline that is so groovy it’s impossible not to bust a move or two. The track lyrically examines the different explanations and methods for wasting time, whether it be waiting for sleep, love or reason.  

Tennenbaum questions the violent wording of the titular phrase in the lyric “I don’t know why but we call it killing time, Always killing.” She asks the audience why, in the modern age, there is so much pressure to constantly pursue an end goal, despite there being so many easily accessible methods for distraction. 

Sonically the album is grandiose, pulling inspiration from different niches in the dance music genre. Tracks like “Love Is Everywhere” and “Cry for Me” are so blatantly disco. The songs would’ve fit snugly into the track list of Arrival by ABBA but do not lose their particular Magdalena Bay charm or come off as derivative in any way. Another highlight, “Image,” if stripped of the vocals, could be chopped and screwed into any club DJ set with its abrasive bassline and eerie synth leading the way. 

What is present on this album, that was not on the duo’s previous bodies of work, are the moments where the shouting instrumentation is stripped back to a mere whisper. It’s in these songs that Tennenbaum is allowed to lead the way with her vocals.  

On “Vampire in the Corner,” this is done with the intention of building suspense. In the beginning, Tennenbaum sings cautiously about how her self perception gets in the way of how she interacts with those she is romantically involved with.  

Lyrics like “Baby on a burner, am I throwing things off? Oh, I didn’t mean, I didn’t mean to make a fuss, Vampire in the corner, just a bump in the dark, My God, it’s only ‘cause I love you too much” are more impactful without distracting instrumentation, displaying the band’s expertise on the hierarchy of musical elements.  

The song crescendos into a vocal hellscape that, on a first listen, sounds like every instrument playing at the same time. In reality, it’s Tennenbaum’s crooning and begging for love a million times over. 

Imaginal Disk ends with the track “The Ballad of Matt & Mica,” wrapping up the album by revisiting familiar vocal and lyrical motifs that were present throughout. This beckons you to reexamine the tracks over and over again. There is so much to unpack on Imaginal Disk; it will take countless listens to wrap your head around it all, but you will enjoy every second of it.  

Overall, Imaginal Disk is one of the best dance-pop albums you could ask for in 2024. Not only is it evocative of the roots of dance music, but it is instrumentally experimental, conceptually peculiar, lyrically relatable and ri(DISK)ulously catchy.