Mag Bay’s synthpop sci-fi opera deserves all the praise it’s getting.
The general consensus seems to be that this album slaps. And I agree. There’s not much else I can add to the Imaginal Disk discourse, but given that I own a music blog and this is likely to be my AOTY, I’ll give it my best shot…
Imaginal
Disk is set in a
world where aliens implant consciousness into humans’ brains by implanting CDs
into their foreheads. The protagonist of the album, True, rejects the latest
consciousness upgrade, and must learn to be human again naturally. It’s a
pretty cuckoo concept, and even after several listens, I haven’t really been
able to follow the narrative. But who cares about all that nerdy shit? Besides ‘True
Blue Interlude’ and ‘Feeling Diskinserted’ (which is a killer pun), this album
doesn’t try to shove its concept in your face. Which is great, because it
enables you to focus purely on the music.
Mag Bay’s
sound consists of catchy bubblegum vocals from frontwoman Mica Tenenbaum, and adventurous
synth-driven production from her partner Matthew Lewin. The duo first caught my
attention with their infectious 2023 single ‘Top Dog’, which made it into my
favourite tracks of the year. Imaginal Disk feels like a step into a
more complex arty sound with a heavy vaporwave influence. The songs are full of
beautiful chord progressions and sticky grooves, while often heading off in unexpected
experimental directions such as the warped arpeggio outro of ‘Fear, Sex’ and
the glitched-out crescendo of ‘Watching TV’. The result kinda sounds like 00s-era Kylie Minogue
meets Currents-era Tame Impala.
The infectiousness
of this album is what has kept me coming back. Mag Bay really know how to
deliver a strong standout chorus. There’s lead single ‘Image’, which transitions
from a woozy unsettling disco verse into a MGMT-style euphoric hook. There’s indie-flavoured
piano-rocker ‘Death & Romance’, which brings anthemic New Radicals vibes
with its ‘yeah, I give and you give til it’s all that we have’ chorus. And
then there’s ‘That’s My Floor’, which contrasts a spacey synth-driven verse
with a rocked-out chorus, followed up by some ‘la-la-la-la-la-la-la-las’
for added earworminess (I’m running out of words for ‘catchy’ here).
There isn’t a
single underwhelming track on this album. Even the interludes are dope. Perhaps the duo could have picked a new beat for ‘Love Is Everywhere’,
instead of recycling the same beat that was on Lil Yachty’s ‘Running Out Of Time’.
However, it’s a very fun beat, and they vocally transform it into something
fresh, so it’s still a great song. I’m interested to see if this will be Mag
Bay’s magnum opus, or if they’ll continue to deliver magnificent pop albums of
this quality in the future.
★★★★★
TRACK TASTER: