How do you know when an album changes your life?
Would you call it a gut feeling? Is it something intrinsic? Or is it a cultural moment?
Charli XCX’s Brat definitely feels like one of those albums. Even three months after its release, you can’t go longer than a few minutes without seeing a meme, article, or quote surrounding the album. NATO even got in on the action! Do you know how good an album has to be for a very serious, very procedural political group to hop on the trends?
But, Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay is an album that probably won’t fit most folks' bills for a cultural moment. I’ve tried pushing my agenda for an Imaginal Disk Fall, but it really doesn’t have the same kick to it.
My failed attempt at putting my music staff on (Colorized, August 2024)
What certainly DOES have a kick to it is this record. The futuristic electro-pop duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin released this one on Friday, August 23rd, and immediately, it rose to the top of my album of the year list. Over a 15-song tracklist, Magdalena Bay covers themes of ideation, love, and one’s “best self” in a concept album over some of the catchiest productions in recent memory.
The intro track, “She Looked Like Me!” is a beautifully layered opener that prepares you for the rest of the project in a very intricate way. Not many albums can start with a track describing Tenenbaum’s move from Argentina to Miami as a child and how an idealized version of herself attempted to kill her and all she felt was loved over distorted, glitchy vocals!
“We stood mirrored 'til I leaned in
And then you know what she did
She shot at me like an earthbound bullet
And then she wrapped her hands around my neck and I felt love”
From this track, we move gracefully onto “Killing Time,” a grand ballad to the wait for love and how “without love, I’m without me” over one of the grooviest basslines of the year. I can’t confirm for certain, but I think this is the only song we have in our New Music Pioneer rotation that features maracas.
Another highlight is the track “Image,” which sees our main character conversing with an alternate, nightmarish version of herself within the music video. The first verse sees Mica lacking common sense, realizing that she needs “confidence in medicine,” alluding to the eventual transition we see in the second verse. This version sees Mica’s “best she got, true or
not” begging to be let in through the procedure. And in just a few more minutes, Mica undergoes this procedure, bringing both the best version of herself, but also the heaviest synths on the album that’ll leave you wanting more.
“Tunnel Vision” is the last song I’ll be highlighting, at the sake of sparing you readers from reading about every single track (and I promise I could, but we do have deadlines and all that jazz). This wonderfully crafted cut finds Mica reflecting and ultimately reaching the conclusion that once she “turns her headlights on,” she can finally see all of her parts and realize everything’s wrong and she’s the problem. Once we hit the chorus, we see Mica succumbing to this narrowed mindset and realizing she needs to forget using love to fall back on herself over a looming, yet beautiful beat that eventually leads into a crazy, psychedelic trip of an outro.
“Then I get tunnel vision
Closing in over me,
I forget with love as my witness
I can stand on my feet”
Anybody who says pop music isn’t in a good place right now is either lying or woefully misinformed. Between “brat summer,” the rise of Chappell Roan and Midwest princesses all over, and short ‘n’ sweet tracks off the new Sabrina Carpenter record, there is an abundance of fantastic, fresh, and most importantly, fun pop music right now. And to put it simply, Imaginal Disk might not have the same cultural impact as these records (for the time being), but it has the leg up on these for being one of the most well-crafted and intricate records around self-love in a very, very long time.
DJMD Score: ★★★★★