By Matthew Mazzucco
Well, it’s happened again. I’ve fallen in love with an artist only to find out they did a concert in Arcata years ago that I totally missed — I’m looking at you, Sierra Ferrell. However, I’m going to give my obliviousness a pass this time, because I’m genuinely just happy I found Magdalena Bay at all. I hear about four new songs a day just by scrolling through TikTok. However, when I discover a song through my “for you page,” it usually ruins the song for me forever. Something about the same clip of a track playing over and over leaves a sour taste in my mouth. “Image” off Magdalena Bay’s new album, Imaginal Disk, is the first exception to this phenomenon. Let’s be honest — with a hook like that, it’s hard not to get sucked into the world of Imaginal Disk.
When I say world, I mean WORLD. Nothing new for Mag Bay; Imaginal Disk includes a full story with multiple characters: The Doctor, Blue, and True Blue, a version of the character Blue after undergoing the titular Imaginal Disk procedure. The story examines numerous concepts, including loneliness, transformation and perfection, and whether perfection is attainable or even desirable in the first place. However, if you’re like me, the story might as well be an afterthought with this album. During one of my shows at KRFH, Cal Poly Humboldt’s student-run radio station — The Pet Sematary, Mondays & Thursdays at 1-2 p.m. — I openly said I never go into albums thinking about the possibility of a story being there. I believe if I did, I would go full-on conspiracy theorist, finding characters in elevator music. I think with that mindset, it only goes to show how good Imaginal Disk truly is, as I personally feel concept albums can fall short when not interacting with the story.
If I could describe the album in one word, it would be lush. I hate to use that word, as it is often overused in album reviews, but I genuinely can’t think of a better one. The world of Imaginal Disk is so precisely crafted with specific moments of dreamy vocals, like on True Blue Interlude, an advertisement in the album’s universe, and deep crunchy guitar such as in That’s My Floor. The album feels like a full-on rollercoaster ride, going from a nearly two-minute-long King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-esque jam at the end of Tunnel Vision into debatably the lightest song on the album, Love is Everywhere. However, unlike a rollercoaster, it doesn’t feel like you’re being whipped around. Something about this style of intimate synthpop makes it easy for you to settle in, trust the process, and enjoy the ride no matter how many twists and turns it takes you on.
Some of the standouts on this album for me are Image, with its aforementioned amazing hook and a breakdown that will have you checking if your speakers are broken — in the best way. Vampire in the Corner holds some of my favorite synth bleeps and bloops in the entire album, and That’s my Floor is one of those songs where you have to keep an eye on your speedometer while playing, because the energy in the song will make you unknowingly start speeding.
This album really surprised me. After hearing Image for the first time, I knew I’d like it, but I didn’t realize it would be one of those albums that you can play on a loop without even realizing it’s repeating. I recommend this album to basically anyone, but especially those in need of some dreamy sounds, catchy hooks and something to dance to. While listening to this album, it can be easy to believe that Love is Everywhere.
If you liked this album, I highly recommend Caroline Polachek’s Desire, I Want to Turn Into You.
Matthew Mazzucco is a Communications major/Journalism minor at Cal Poly Humboldt. He has an interest in music journalism and broadcasts weekly at KRFH and Humboldt Hot Air under the name DJ Jackalope.
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