Imaginal Disk

"Imaginal Disk" is Magdalena Bay's latest album. Prior to this, I'd only heard their EP, "mini mix vol. 3," which I thought was pretty fun. But I really wasn't expecting just how great this would be. I was a bit caught off-guard by this album and didn't really like it that much on first listen, but after giving it multiple re-listens, I can safely say that this is such an engaging and entertaining listen.

The opening track, "She Looked Like Me!", is a strong cinematic opener. It starts with a pretty simple intro, but the song evolves into something huge and bombastic with grand hits and drum sounds. This song is a fantastic opener for the album that introduces the album's story excellently. The second track, "Killing Time", is a lot more laid back and groovy, with some excellent instrumentation and vocals. The song evolves into a darker and more intense sound near the end though, with Mica's deadpan and haunting vocals and lyricism. This song is one of the most chill on the album, and it's a nice relaxing vibe that suddenly gets intense by the end, perfectly representing the song's lyricism about wasting time and not progressing in life. The third track is the "True Blue" interlude, which feels like the true beginning of the album, whereas the previous two tracks felt like a "prologue". This interlude sounds like the soundtrack to a Mii game, and it's beautiful. The song effectively serves as an advertisement for "True Blue", which is a disc you insert into your head (as seen on the album cover) that is said to turn you into your "ideal self". Despite the fact this song is effectively an advertisement in the lore, it's a damn enjoyable and nice ad song, even if it is just a short interlude.

The next song is "Image", which is one of the most psychedelic and groovy songs on the project. This song sounds like you're cruising a spaceship in the 90s and I love it. The chorus is so catchy and infectious, and I love the way the verses contrast with one another as Mica slowly turns into her "ideal self" after using the True Blue disc. The reverberation and wobbliness of this entire song is so masterfully produced and it's so endearing. The next song, "Death & Romance", is possibly the most catchy and pop-like song on the album. With a gorgeous piano, beautiful vocal performance, catchy chorus, introspective lyricism, and loud production, what's not to love about this song? Also the bridge is absolutely transcendent. The subtle synths on the track too are so good and add so much texture.

The next song, "Fear, Sex", marks the album turning a bit darker-in-tone and more emotional. On the first listen, I really didn't care for the middle section of this album, but on a re-listen, I found myself loving it and thinking some of this album's strongest material appears during the middle section. The way "Death & Romance" perfectly transitions into this song is perfect, especially considering how much of a contrast this song is emotionally compared to "Death & Romance". The glitchy-sounding instrumentation creates a very psychedelic, dreamlike, and ambient atmosphere and I find myself getting lost in it very easily. While this is one of the shorter tracks, it's a good breather from the more upbeat tracks before it. Yet again, this song perfectly transitions into the next track, "Vampire in the Corner". This album's transitions are some of the best I've ever heard on an album, as they really do make it feel like each song is just a part of a bigger story being told. Anyways "Vampire in the Corner" is one of the most transcendent and emotional songs on the album, with this easily being the most stripped-back and intimate track on the album. The powerful vocal performance from Mica in the chorus is so intimate-sounding and emotional that it's easily one of the most memorable and best choruses on this album. During the second-half though, the song brings back the layered instrumentation heard on the rest of this album, and it suddenly explodes into one of the most divine and pristine sounding moments on this album. I was absolutely ascending during that last chorus.

The next song, "Watching T.V.", is a laid back, calming, and introspective track. I love the slight beat switch up during the song's second half. However, just like the last song, "Vampire in the Corner", this song also explodes into a fantastic beautiful heavenly sound at the end with roaring synths, and an energetic vocal performance. The song transitions perfectly into "Tunnel Vision", which starts pretty relaxed and quiet with crunchy instrumentation, however, the song starkly switches to realistic instrumentation with a more upbeat feel. The chorus to this track is very catchy, groovy, and memorable. However, what makes this song very notable is the last two minutes, where the song drastically switches to a instrumental outro full of loud production, intense drums, harsh synths, and heavy bass. Now if "Image" sounded like cruising a spaceship in the 90s, this song sounds like you're in a spaceship battle in the 90s. Now while I do really enjoy "Tunnel Vision", I definitely don't find myself returning to it as much as the other songs. I think it works better in an album context rather than a standalone track like pretty much every other song on the album does.

"Tunnel Vision" is immediately followed by "Love Is Everywhere", which I do find to be a bit of an odd transition after the pure intensity of "Tunnel Vision"'s ending. Regardless of the odd transition, this song is cute and has a very sweet sentiment. But I do think the vocals are a little loud in the mix and the chorus is probably one of the weakest on the album. Also this song is nearly identical to Lil Yachty's "running out of time", because this song uses the same instrumental as that song, as Magdalena Bay gave him permission to use it. While it doesn't ruin the song, because on one hand it definitely makes it a bit more of a memorable and standout track, but on the other hand, it doesn't make this song as impressive instrumentally as the others, since I've already heard the instrumental dozens of times before I even heard the song. It's still a very fun song though, and I like the verses a lot. The song is followed by "Feeling DiskInserted?" which is a short, sweet, and nice interlude.

The next song, "That's My Floor", is probably my least favorite on the album. It's not bad by any means, but the production and chorus can be a little bit grating compared to the other tracks. It sounds like the intro to a Disney TV show, and while there's some charm to that sound, it's a bit repetitive and not nearly as interesting as the other tracks. Still a good song, just the weakest on this incredible album. However, the song is followed up by "Cry for Me", which is possibly the best song on the album and one of the strongest of the year so far. The first half has dramatic, cinematic, and brooding instrumentation with some brilliant lyricism. However, then the second-half of the song comes in, and I am ascending. The drop is phenomenal sounding, and the piano, production, string instrumentation, vocal melody, vocal performance, and everything else is perfect. The song was inspired by ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and that makes a lot of sense in hindsight, since the sound is very similar. This song is absolutely mindblowing, gorgeous, and it's the best on the album. My only complaint is that I feel like the second-half could've been slightly longer, but that's about it, and that's just a minor nitpick.

The album slows down with the most pristine and pretty song on the album; "Angel on a Satellite". This song feels like floating in the clouds, with the angelic chorus and breezy instrumental. I love the quiet sound during the first half, and the subtle organ in the background is perfect. The song switches to a denser sound during the second-half as drums, strings, and more bass comes in. It's picturesque, ethereal, and emotionally heavy. I know I've said it before, but I really went to emphasize just how much I adore Mica's vocal performances on this album. Her voice is so light, melodic, and it works perfectly with this album. This song might be her best vocal performance on the whole album and it gives me chills every time. The album closes out with "The Ballad of Matt & Mica", which starts out slow and reflective. The final two songs on the album allow the listener to wind down as the album comes to a close. But eventually, this song explodes into the most bombastic and upbeat song on the album, and it even interpolates the album's opening track, "She Looked Like Me!". And it's so catchy, fun, and delightful. I really couldn't think of a better way to end the album. But the song closes out with a pretty dissonant synth lead, which I wonder if that'll lead into their next album.

Overall, "Imaginal Disk" is a masterpiece of pop music. Each song is fun, atmospheric, infectious, lyrically dense, well-produced, and full of wonderful instrumentation and performances. I really can't recommend this album enough. 2024 has been a great year for music. While initially this album didn't click for me, it clicked for me super hard during my re-listens and I'm glad it did. I can't stop returning to it. Magdalena Bay really outdid themselves with this one. I feel like I've inserted the CD for this album into my head since I just can't stop thinking about it and the hooks are constantly playing in my head on repeat.
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FAVORITE TRACK: Cry for Me
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: That's My Floor
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