Jeovany Tzilin Gomez
Staff Writer
Electropop duo Magdalena Bay, featuring Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, released three singles with two songs each as spiritual successors of their last album, “Imaginal Disk,” and as part of a rollout for their upcoming album. The singles expanded on the album’s galactic experimental sounds and sorrowful themes of heartbreak.
The couple, Tenenbaum and Lewin, formed the band in 2016 in Miami, Florida, bonding over inspirations like rock bands Genesis and King Crimson. Their music is also inspired by Charli xcx and Grimes, which contributes to the fusion of progressive rock (prog-rock) and electronic music. They perceive themselves as being chronologically online, making a lot of references to nostalgic moments like blank CDs and vibrant cool colors.
A closer look at the new Magdalena Bay singles reveals their evolving sound.
“Second Sleep” starts with Tenenbaum singing, “Second sleep is callin’ out to me,” insinuating how she wants to rest differently after experiencing horrible visions, specifically in romance. The instrumentals by Lewin present midnight grooves with wavy synths and pop-leaning drums, creating this dreamy atmosphere of wanting a “second sleep.” Tenenbaum continues by singing, “I fall in love just to hurt myself,” learning that love isn’t working out for her and that she feels like sleeping is her way to get out of romantic woes.
“Star Eyes” sounds eerie with the descending synths, swift saxophone riffs contrasting the eeriness. Tenenbaum sings, “Star eyes, I can’t change the fading of a twilight / But you’ve gotta chase the night away,” personifying a pair of eyes for having a negative perspective in life, telling them to “chase the night away” or find a way to get out of that mindset, even if they, as a being, don’t change.
“Human Happens” is a funky track that talks about a dystopian scenario of taking control and abusing it, which can be applied to the real-world context. Tenenbaum sings, “This town is changin’, it’s fadin’ / I guess it’s for the takin’ / A curse for conquerors / In other words, it’s all because / Human happens,” envisioning a time where it’s inevitable that humans will make the mistake of falling into chaos because the “conquerors” want everything to themselves and letting it happen. However, when Tenenbaum sings, “Stupid havoc / ‘Cause it’s just how I feel, and I like it / I’m in trouble,” she’s feeling paradoxical about finding a purpose to live because there are a lot of issues to be solved, and she’s feeling stressed out about having much to do.
“Paint Me A Picture” is another dreamy track with an interesting narrative about being online. Tenenbaum sings, “Paint me a picture like a movie / Color the pixels, blow them all the way out,” describing the act of posting content online for many people to see for the content’s artistic appeal. She also sings, “If everybody’s happy, well, that’s good with me, yeah / Every minute, every hour, every beat / Just stare,” referring to the constant consumerism of online content, and how the creators of that content don’t care about the negative effects that addicting content to an oversaturated field can have on consumers.
“Unoriginal” takes a completely different turn from the synths and instead has sounds of the acoustic guitar, adding more to the message of being “unoriginal.” Tenenbaum sings, “I’m white bread, there’s nothin’ in my head / There’s someone in the tunnels always lurking at the edge,” discovering that she’s too plain and that she fears that she’ll be the outlier for not being different, as the “someone in the tunnels” will be there to capture her. The tunnel person can be someone who has done the “original” art that Tenenbaum wanted to do because she sings, “It’s such a bore, it’s all been done before / I guess that in a nutshell, it’s hollow at the core,” emphasizing that what she’s doing doesn’t reach the level of unique art that everyone else is creating.
“Black-Eyed Susan Climb” is an aggressive prog-rock song that continues the theme of using acoustic guitars to make thrashy sounds. Tenenbaum sings about the duality of good and evil, but she’s aware of how much the devil wants her to be influenced by him. In the chorus, the devil would say, “Your low is rising / So let the good times ride,” to have Tenenbaum use her free will to do whatever she wants.
Black-eyed Susan is supposed to be some sort of a god, as the devil would also say, “No compromisin’ black-eyed Susan climb,” with Black-eyed Susan being another name for the yellow cornflower, representing prosperity and hope.
With this unconventional rollout, Magdalena Bay is giving the listeners a taste of what their next album could sound like: a mix of galactic funky sounds with acoustic chord progressions. Magdalena Bay has continued to create worlds that would be found in outer space or in different dimensions, showing how their music is pushing boundaries in the pop genre while also satisfying listeners. Time will only tell if they will continue their unconventional single releases or wait until they formally discover their next world, a world different from “Imaginal Disk.”