Imaginal Disk
The LA-by-way-of-Miami duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin pick up where they left things on their debut, 2021’s *Mercurial World*, and make everything just a bit bigger. Opener “She Looked Like Me!” begins innocently enough, with hushed vocals from Tenenbaum backed by twinkling keys and a buzzing bass synth. Before long, though, massive drum hits give the song an unrelenting pulse, blending the energy of a hyperpop anthem with the rise-and-fall restraint of a classic-rock song. “Image” is a disco-inspired cut that dances around synths that speed up and slow down according to their own whimsy, as Tenenbaum’s voice floats effortlessly above the fray. “What\'s the best you’ve got?/I forgot all my common sense/I need all the common sense/Time to start the clock from the top,” she sings, letting the feel-good vibes of the club-ready instrumental imbue her abstract lyrics with visceral meaning. Even when the duo concoct songs that fear the future or suggest wariness at where the world is headed, the jams suggest that the AI apocalypse will still feature plenty of dancing.
The Los Angeles duo’s second album is musically and conceptually dense, warping the fundamentally optimistic sound of pop to suit a more cynical and paranoid reality.
Magdalena Bay’s second album captures the visionaries at their most expansive: kaleidoscopic and overproduced in all the right ways
Imaginal Disk sees Magdalena Bay channeling their overflowing creative energy into something novel.
Magdalena Bay, the duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, go longer and further into left-field on their robust, hypnotic sophomore album.
Magdalena Bay’s ‘Imaginal Disk’ offers a confluence of ideas that allows for strange detours through a sonic hall of mirrors.
Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay album review by Sam Franzini for Northern Transmissions the duo's LP drops on August 23rd via Mom+Pop Music