The r/indieheads Album of the Year 2024 Write-Up Series: Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk

Howdy! Welcome to the ninth day of the r/indieheads Album of the Year 2024 Write-up Series! This is our annual event where we showcase pieces from some of our favorite writers on the subreddit, discussing some of their favorite records of the year! We'll be running through the bulk of January with one new writeup a day from a different r/indieheads user! Today, u/SkullOfNessie takes us on a magic ride through Magdalena Bay's Imaginal Disk!

Mom + Pop - August 23, 2024

Listen:

Bandcamp

Youtube

Spotify

Background:

Magdalena Bay are an L.A.-based duo originally from Miami composed of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew (or Matt) Lewin. Following the success of “Killshot” off their 2020 EP A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling, they released their acclaimed debut album Mercurial World in October 2021, with a deluxe edition in 2022 and a mixtape in 2023. Imaginal Disk released in August 2024 following four singles beginning in May. Magdalena Bay are known for their synthpop production, their web 1.0 aesthetic, and their DIY look on stage and in music videos.

Write Up by u/SkullOfNessie:

I was at a lame pre-game four years ago when I first heard Magdalena Bay. My girlfriend’s friend’s boyfriend was playing a song off of Mercurial World, and it was rocking my world. Despite being a terribly shy person and not knowing him very well at the time, I had to ask the name of the song. “You Lose!”. I think I listened to the entire album later that night.

Really, I was part of the target audience for MagBay, and if you’re reading this on reddit dot com, you probably are as well. I like to call their genre “internet-aware music” - they aren’t looking to make yoinky-sploinky meme music or Tiktok sound bites, but they are clearly well-versed in the aesthetic signifiers of the internet, the reactions and discourse their art may invite, and the fan service that the maw of the online demands. They moonlight as streamers in their MAG MONDAY segments, where fans can catch them breaking down their music or playing Geoguessr. They fuse genres and sounds in a way that didn’t really fly in the same way before streaming, but also sounds nostalgic of just before then. They use Geocities clipart in their music videos, as well as in their Neopets-esque promo website.

Their music reflects this awareness to the point of self-consciousness on Mercurial World. Band member and lead singer Mica Tenenbaum worries constantly about how she comes across on songs like “Dawning of the Season,” “Chaeri,” and “Hysterical Us.” They sounded and looked a bit unsure of themselves at times during live performances (I want to say they talked about this in an interview at the time, though I couldn’t verify this in retrospect).

I bring all this up to point out how much growth and self-assuredness is evident on their follow-up, Imaginal Disk. It’s well-known that Mica and other MagBay member Matt Lewin were, prior to Magdalena Bay, part of a prog band called Tabula Rasa. While their previous work as Magdalena Bay was pure cotton candy synth-drenched pop, Imaginal Disk fuses their perfect production skills with some of these more rock origins, especially on standouts “Tunnel Vision” and “Killing Time.” Matt and Mica are no slouches on lyrics, but their strength truly has always lied in their ability to layer sounds in a way that is an earworm on first listen and yet deeply textured and rewarding every listen thereafter. And while that is true for Imaginal Disk as it was on Mercurial World, it sounds more complete this time, more intentional. Not least of the level-ups on here is the live drums from Tabula Rasa member, high-school friend, and touring drummer Nick Villa. I can not overstate how core these drums are to the sound of this album, and how commanding a presence they hold in my ears listening, especially live. The bass on this album is also great, but those drums are something else.

This growth is reflected in the lyrics and themes of Imaginal Disk. I am not a lyric person, and I will not do an in-depth analysis of all the world-building going on across this album. Here you go. At its core, past all the sci-fi surgeries and monsters and named characters, Imaginal Disk is about self-discovery and learning what it means to be human, starting out as though from a baby or young child on the first two songs, learning about the world across tracks 4-8, reaching some catharsis on “Tunnel Vision,” and reveling in these fully-formed, fully intense feelings from there on. The final song, “The Ballad of Matt & Mica,” feels more like an epilogue, making explicit the idea that all these wild stories are not just imagination (imaginal?) but instead about their self-discovery.

Despite the emphasis on wider themes throughout the album as a piece, Magdalena Bay does not disappoint when it comes to individual songs on the album. Songs like “Image” and “Death & Romance” pick up right where they left off with Mercurial World, with tight production and great little flourishes throughout (I went through a period where I would just keep replaying “Image” right after the horns at 2:07, for example). I already mentioned how thrilling “Tunnel Vision” is, and “That’s My Floor” feels like an homage to ‘90s songs a la “Steal my Sunshine.” While not my personal favorite, “Cry for Me” is a much more direct tribute, clearly being just a newly released ABBA song until about halfway through. And it’s amazing to think all of these moods and sounds could make sense on one album alongside the vaguely unsettling vibes of “She Looked Like Me!” and “Watching T.V.” (my personal favorite), but somehow it all makes sense in context.

This personality and openness about process that Magdalena Bay has shown was a huge risk, but their gamble on themselves paid off more than I think anyone really could have expected, especially from the lead single “Death & Romance.” I was worried about that song being too safe when it came out, but it turns out this was part of the plan all along. The excitement that built around follow-ups “Image,” “Tunnel Vision,” and “That’s My Floor,” especially the way in which “Image” foreshadows the turn in “Tunnel Vision,” left me very excited for how the album was going to take shape around these ideas, to the point where I was worried I was overhyped.

However, of course, this was also all according to plan, with the album being ranked the top album of the year on this subreddit and RYM and appearing on a bunch of year-end lists. Of course, this led to its fair share of unfair but expected blowback (which I better not see in the comments here!), with people questioning its songwriting and its song quality and if it is actually better than this album or that album.

I was a bit worried about this reputation hanging over Magdalena Bay, or alternatively this hype by music nerd types messing with the very intentional culture and energy they have built up at concerts and on live streams for the past few years. I still am a bit worried about this write-up getting picked apart by those same types. However, I feel assured in how conscious – no longer self-conscious – Matt and Mica seem to be of every aspect of the Magdalena Bay project, from visuals to performance to the music itself, and how conscious they are of themselves through it.

Favorite Lyrics:

If you wanna be clean

You gotta scrub until the blood comes out

Get the spots in between

Slip your skin right off and hang it out

• Watching TV

I didn’t know her when she walked in

But I recognized her eyes

Her hair lifted as she stood still

Right there, in the light

• She Looked Like Me!

But oh, my God

Twenty-two more minutes

• Image

That’s my floor

I’m coming up to the party and I want more

So open up for me

Life’s a Chore

But floating above the lobby, that’s my door

I let it open me

• That’s My Floor

Talking Points:

• How do you feel Imaginal Disk will settle reputationally once the hype cycle moves on?
• What do you think of the term “internet-aware music”? Any other artists that fit into this (I first thought of this when I listened to MagBay back-to-back with MSPAINT)?
• What are your favorite moments or flourishes on Imaginal Disk?

Thank you u/SkullofNessie for sending in this nifty lil' writeup on Imaginal Disk! We'll be back tomorrow with u/clashroyale18256 covering the one, the only Friko and their debut Where we've been, Where we go from here! In the meantime, discuss today's album and writeup in the comments below, and take a look at the schedule to familiarize yourself with the rest of the lineup.

Complete:

Schedule: