Imaginal Disk
by Magdalena Bay
This album has been added to 3 private lists and 18 public lists:
-
Vortex's Album of the Year List '24
TomI am convinced Magdalena Bay are wizards. How else could they make a pop album this perfect?
Seriously, though; if there was a perfect album this year, it would be Imaginal Disk. I first heard of this album on Twitter, heralded as the "Brat killer". By that, the Twitter people meant it was better than BRAT, which was at the time one of the ten most acclaimed albums of all time. High praise, right? So I went into it with a cautiously positive mindset (if not wholly sold; Twitter is not exactly a reliable source). So it was VERY rewarding when intro track She Looked Like Me! began... because yeah, it's that good.
It's in the precision of every sound, how the buzzes and chirps creep up on you to swirl over your head until you don't even notice that your feet are off the ground. How there's never a "safe" track to be found here, how EVERY SINGLE SONG is impeccably produced, constructed and mixed. From the creeping sandy vines of Killing Time's drums that build into something resembling a very scary metal-esque track, or Image's...
Actually, line break. Image. Oh my god. This is one of the best songs I have ever heard, hands-down. It's in the cleanness of the synths, the slamming sounds that are incredibly loud yet barely-there that add more than any in-your-face bass could, in the bass! The bass sounds so alive, and so perfect! In the gleaming future-sparkle that punctuates each verse, in the whisper-angel touch of every barely uttered line, in the moment everything hangs in suspension for just a moment and CRASHES to the floor with an eruption of messy, orgasmic vibrations. This would already push the album past mediocrity by itself and to follow it up with Death & Romance? DEATH AND ROMANCE? Like, holy shit! It genuinely does not get much better than this in the world of pop, and it just keeps going! Fear, Sex is fucking gorgeous, laden with hisses and pulses of future-bass that combine to create a glistening, indecipherable machine, Vampire in the Corner has a beautiful leafy chorus, Watching T.V is a masterclass in mixing, tension-building, and subversion of expectations (the glitch-filled screams peaking the mic genuinely spooked me)...
I could go on, but it would be remiss of me to ignore how much of a step change Tunnel Vision is for the album. All that tension left unresolved in previous tracks warps into a furry horror-rock track, with vocals subsiding and minutes of pure instrumentation in some of the keenest instrumentation I've heard on a pop record in a while. And then we go straight into Love is Everywhere! A gorgeous, warm track that's completely different to the previous one, with motifs borrowed from She Looked Like Me! in a beautiful cyclical nod. In fact, Like Me! is everywhere on this album if you look hard enough.
From here the tracks feel like more of a victory lap than anything else. The groove dial is turned up to eleven on That's My Floor and Cry For Me, two legendary synth-drenched tracks that prove whatever Magdalena Bay touch turns to gold. This whole album really is golden. It might not be my favourite of the year, but is it the most perfect? The most compelling? I think so.
-
Makes Me Feel A Way
Ali mohamedIt’s an album that’s somehow chill but with but with interesting production
-
vinyl dreams
ChaseOooooohh my gyawdddd
-
Current Vibes
TimI saw Ryan recommend this in Garbage Day and it really does slap. Great dance-y, dreamy pop music. "Love Is Everywhere" is what I get stuck in my head.
-
Top 10 Albums
Benedict TerrellOriginally, I found this album via a poor review and I went into my listen with very low expectations. There couldn’t have been a better way to have approached an album of this superb quality. No two songs are alike, no one song is predictable, and the whole album oozes creativity and brilliance. Sometimes you think you can’t possibly find better music than you already know, and then sometimes you listen to an album like this and everything changes.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Do you like albums?
Want to make a list?
It’s free & easy &
the Whale is nice!
Learn more