''Imaginal Disk'' is the second studio album by the American musical duo

Magdalena Bay Magdalena Bay () is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magda ...

, released through

Mom + Pop Music Mom + Pop Music is a New York City–based independent record label. Founded by Michael Goldstone in 2008, its roster includes Alicia Keys, Courtney Barnett, Magdalena Bay, Madeon, Tom Morello, Porter Robinson, Maya Hawke, Tycho, Tash Sul ...

on August 23, 2024. Both members of the duo, Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, entirely wrote and produced the album, while Tenenbaum provided the lead vocals. It is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

centered on the fictional character True. After a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

-shaped object, homonymous with the album, is implanted into her forehead in order to create her ideal self, her body rejects it and she relearns the meaning of being human. Recurring lyrical themes include self-exploration and consciousness. Musically, ''Imaginal Disk'' is a

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

, and

electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

album. It was supported by four singles—" Death & Romance", "

Image An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

", "Tunnel Vision", and "That's My Floor"—released between May and August 2024; three of them were accompanied by

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

-influenced music videos that follow the narrative of the album, with Tenenbaum portraying True. Magdalena Bay further promoted it with a concert tour, the Imaginal Mystery Tour, which commenced in September 2024 and is set to conclude in October 2025. Upon its release, the album received acclaim from music critics. Most reviewers praised its style and considered it an improvement from their debut album, '' Mercurial World'' (2021). It appeared on several year-end listicles of the best music, as well as on a mid-decade ranking by '' Paste''. The same magazine also named "Death & Romance" the best song released in 2024. Commercially, ''Imaginal Disk'' reached the top 40 in Australia and appeared on secondary charts in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Background

In 2021, the American duo

—consisting of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin—released their debut album '' Mercurial World'' to critical acclaim. In the following year, they shared its

deluxe edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...

, which contained alternative versions of album tracks and new songs. It was released through Luminelle Recordings. While promoting the album with a concert tour, they started working on new music. In parallel, they worked with

Jihyo Park Ji-hyo (; born Park Ji-soo, February 1, 1997), known mononymously as Jihyo, is a South Korean singer. She is the leader and vocalist of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015. Jihyo released her debut exten ...

and

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...

, and released ''Mini Mix, Vol. 3'', an

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) with seven short songs accompanied by a full-length music video. In June 2023, the duo signed to the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based record label

. In a statement, they expressed their excitement for "what the future holds", and announced that "the next stage, the next phase is here". Following a series of social media posts teasing the arrival of new music in 2024, Magdalena Bay announced their second album, ''Imaginal Disk''.

Writing and recording

Magdalena Bay began writing and working on ''Imaginal Disk'' in 2022. While in the process of the album's creation, they wanted to do something different from ''Mercurial World'', which contained songs with a classical pop structure; they decided to "play with that a little bit". Several demos were discarded because the duo felt that they were too serious, although believing that they "sounded good". Tenenbaum said that she was in " erfirst

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

phase and then

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

phase" while writing ''Imaginal Disk''. She and Lewin were also listening to

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

's discography, as well as albums by

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2021, she has sold over ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

, and

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305 ...

. Several other artists and albums were mentioned as inspirations for ''Imaginal Disk'', including the songwriting of the American musician

, the 2000 soundtrack '' Selmasongs'' by the Icelandic musician

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

, and the music of the English band

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

. According to the liner notes of ''Imaginal Disk'', it was mostly recorded in their home studio, which is referred to as "Mag Bay HQ". Additional drum and orchestral parts were respectively recorded at Honeymoon Suite in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and IMRSV Studios in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Composition

Music and concept

Musically, ''Imaginal Disk'' has been described by critics as a predominantly

, and

album. It also contains elements of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

new age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

, and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

. The production has been called maximalist. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' Anna Gaca said that it departs from the optimistic sound of pop in order to adjust to a "cynical and paranoid reality". Described by the duo and some reviewers as a "loose

", the lyrics of ''Imaginal Disk'' establish a narrative revolving around True, a character represented by Tenenbaum in the album's music videos. True is implanted with an "Imaginal Disk", an object shaped like a

, into her forehead to transform into her ideal self. When True's body rejects the Disk, she undertakes a journey to understand "what it means to be human", as stated by the duo. The duo stated that the narrative for the album was developed after the writing of the music, with the narrative provided as a "layer of meaning on top of the record" and enmeshed in the visual design of the album and videos. Tenenbaum and Lewin developed the cover artwork with Maria Shatalova; it depicts a demon hand inserting a CD into Tenenbaum's forehead from above. ''Imaginal Disk'' shares its name with

imaginal disc An imaginal disc is one of the parts of a holometabolous insect larva that will become a portion of the outside of the adult insect during the pupal transformation to the imago. Contained within the body of the larva, there are pairs of discs t ...

s, structures within the bodies of insect

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

that emerge to form parts of their adult bodies. The title was inspired by Tenenbaum's reading into

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

and her interest in the relationship between these genetic processes and "ideas of self" as they applied to human nature. Lewin stated the album title acted as a "double entendre" to connect the album cover's concept of "inserting a disk into someone's forehead" with the themes of "consciousness, memory, ndawareness". Self-exploration is also a recurring theme, along with identity and technology. The duo members have different perspectives regarding the romantic nature of the album: Tenenbaum opined that it is less romantic than ''Mercurial World'', while Lewin disagreed, considering "the historical sense of the word", and believing that it is more

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

tic and dark.

Songs

The album opens with "She Looked like Me!", built on a dance rhythm with distorted samples,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s, and percussion. It is followed by "Killing Time", a

yacht rock Yacht rock (originally known as the West Coast soundThat ' ...

song beginning similarly to

lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The ra ...

before reaching a climax with a

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melody, melodic passage, instrumental section (music), section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, classical, electric guitar, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and ...

, psychedelic guitar lines, and

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

chants. It blends both pop and progressive elements. "True Blue Interlude" is a dreamy interlude that has a similar vibe to

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...

s. It is followed by "

", a

and pop song with lyrical content that focuses on self-identity and reflection, with lines of rebirth: "Meet your brand new image." The choruses of "Image" initiate a countdown to "22" and "21 more minutes". The fifth song, " Death & Romance", is predominantly led by piano chords, while also containing synthesizers and drums. Evan Sawdey of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' defined it one of the duo's "longer, melodramatic" tracks, marking a departure from more traditional structures. On "Fear, Sex", Tenenbaum criticizes the idea of a computer-enhanced human: "Shoulda known those dirty bastards/Would put wires in your head". The

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

track "Vampire in the Corner" contains the duo's favorite lyrics on the album. The song is about loving a person even when it hurts to do so, as she sings: "Someone call the coroner/'Cause you're breaking my heart/My god, I think I mighta loved you too much." "Watching T.V.", the eighth song, was compared by '' Paste'' Andy Steiner to the "''

Kid A ''Kid A'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Departing from their ...

'' chill". On the five-minute album centerpiece "Tunnel Vision", the duo explores themes of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

and self-hatred. Its production builds up as it progresses, incorporating a synth rock sound with a

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

and live drums. On the track, the countdown initiated on "Image" ends; at that moment, a breakdown is presented, which leads to the second act to the album. The tenth track, "Love Is Everywhere", has a disco production marked by the use of a

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...

. The song's psychedelic instrumental is a reworked version of the duo's contribution to "Running Out of Time" by

. Gaca compared the interlude "Feeling DiskInserted?" to " YA sci-fi paperbacks". The progressive rock and psychedelic synth funk "That's My Floor" also contains a guitar solo at the end. Its lyrics have a sense of discovery: "Never really noticed I'm the transcendental type". Magdalena Bay said that it is about "how heyimagine a party must be like.

hey have Hey, HEY, or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the ...

never been to one". While working on the

disco-pop Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes ...

track "Cry for Me", the duo was "obsessed" with "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

" (1976) by the Swedish group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

. They wanted to capture the feeling of "Dancing Queen" into the song, although "Cry for Me" is more "moody and dramatic", according to Lewin. Tenenbaum revealed that the lyrics are written from a perspective of a character, whether a hero or a villain, who wants "to be washed free of their sins and reborn as a pure being". While reviewing the album,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Matt Collar described "Angel on a Satellite" as a "relaxing"

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

with

baroque pop Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid-1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...

and nature sounds, also led by an acoustic piano. ''Imaginal Disk'' last song, "The Ballad of Matt & Mica", is a self-referential track that reprises a melody from "She Looked like Me!". It closes the album with a

happy ending A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which there is a positive outcome for the protagonist or protagonists, and in which this is to be considered a favourable outcome. In storylines where the protagonists are in phy ...

, and was interpreted by Gaca as an allusion to Tenenbaum's real life and how she arrived with Lewin to

Release and promotion

The lead single from ''Imaginal Disk'', "Death & Romance", marked the duo's first release with Mom + Pop Music, on May 28, 2024. On June 18, the release was supported by a

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

-themed music video directed by Amanda Kramer, extended to contain the song "Fear, Sex". The announcement of ''Imaginal Disk'' on July 10 was accompanied by the reveal of its track listing and the release of the second single "Image", with a video also directed by Kramer. It was followed by a third single, "Tunnel Vision", on July 31. "That's My Floor", the third and final single, was released on August 21, two days before the album's release; it was also supported by a music video. All the videos follow the narrative of the album, depicting True being chased by a monster, left by a being of light, and implanted with the "Imaginal Disk". They contain Y2K and

vaporwave Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music, a visual art style, and an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s and became well-known in 2015. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, 1970 ...

aesthetics, and were influenced by the music videos of

, the films ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

'' (1980) and ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'' (1977), and the artistry of

Shana Moulton Shana Moulton is a New York based media artist who explores contemporary anxieties through her filmic alter ego, Cynthia. Combining an unsettling, wry humor with a low-tech, Pop sensibility, Cynthia's interactions with the everyday world are both ...

. ''Imaginal Disk'' was released on August 23, 2024, through CD,

vinyl LP The LP (from long playing or long play) is an analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specificati ...

, and

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

formats. It reached secondary charts in the United Kingdom and the United States; it peaked at number 33 on the

UK Album Downloads Chart The UK Album Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts on behalf of the British music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The chart was introduced i ...

, while reaching numbers 6 and 17 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Heatseekers Albums The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

and

Top Current Album Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

charts, respectively. In 2025, it entered the Australian Albums chart at number 38. Magdalena Bay further promoted the album with the Imaginal Mystery Tour, a concert tour that has passed through North America, Europe, and Australia; it commenced in September 2024 and is set to conclude in October 2025, with additional performances as part of multiple music festivals, such as Ceremonia in Mexico City and

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...

in Barcelona. Sam Austins served as the opening act in several shows. At the tour, the duo played ''Imaginal Disk'' in full and in order, interspersing it with other songs from their discography, including some from ''Mercurial World''. It received mostly positive reviews from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' Hannah Ewens and ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' Adam England. On October 30, 2024, Magdalena Bay made their late-night television debut with a performance of "Image" on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

''.

Critical reception

''Imaginal Disk'' received critical acclaim, according to

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. In the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

site, which assigns a normalized rating from publications, the album received a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 85 out of 100 based on 8 reviews. AnyDecentMusic? compiled 10 reviews and assigned the album a score of 7.9 out of 10. Some reviewers compared ''Imaginal Disk'' with Magdalena Bay's previous projects. In a review for ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', Sawdey perceived it as an improvement from ''Mercurial World'', being "more colorful, more ambitious, and far weirder". Writing for ''Paste'', Eric Bennett agreed with the latter descriptor, and called it more surprising. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' Otis Robinson opined that the album "further consolidate Tenenbaum and Lewin's previously presented

lore Lore may refer to: * Folklore, acquired knowledge or traditional beliefs * Oral lore or oral tradition, orally conveyed cultural knowledge and traditions Places * Loré, former French commune * Loré (East Timor), a city and subdistrict in La ...

. Writing for '' Under the Radar'', Caleb Campbell said that the duo "explor dnew textures and emotional range". The style of ''Imaginal Disk'' was praised. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' Nick Seip wrote that the "lengthy and ambitious" ''Imaginal Disk'' finds them "at their most radical", and lauded it for "in fact heading somewhere".

's Matt Collar praised the vibe for being "absolutely distinctive" and compared it to the conceptual pop of

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

and

Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

. Matthew Kim of ''The Line of Best Fit'' also described it as "unique" and said that the album "is a testament to good old-fashioned artistry". Critics also commented on the album's narrative. Kim believed that the concept "isn't strictly important to the album", and it is "more like just a collection of pop songs centered around a common theme". He also stated that the album is not homogeneous, but "manages" to feel cohesive. Steiner opined that the duo "push sthemselves out of their comfort zone". Gaca said that the "dense" concept generally works, but not in all the songs. In a less positive review, ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic (abbreviated as Sputnik) is a music website that publishes music reviews and news entries. The site hosts both professional and amateur content, covering metal, punk, indie, rock, hip-hop, pop and other styles. Its reviews are us ...

'' commended the album's "craft and attention to detail", but considered it to lack depth due to its "over-stimulated nddisoriented" premise and cursory treatment of its themes.

Rankings

Several publications included ''Imaginal Disk'' in year-end listicles of the best albums released in 2024, including top-10 positions from ''NME'', ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'', ''Slant Magazine'', and ''

Our Culture Mag ''Our Culture Mag'' (stylised ourculture) is a British arts and culture online magazine launched in 2016 by Modestas Mankus, based in Cambridge, England. It covers film, fashion, music, art, photography and literature. History In 2016, Modesta ...

''. It also appeared in an unranked listicle published by ''

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

''. In October 2024, ''Paste'' included ''Imaginal Disk'' on a mid-decade ranking of best albums. The same magazine named the single "Death & Romance" the best song of its release year. Other tracks that were present on year-end listicles include "She Looked like Me!", "Image", and "That's My Floor".

Track listing

Personnel

The personnel is adapted from the liner notes. Magdalena Bay * Mica Tenenbaum –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, vocals * Matthew Lewin – production, string

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s, brass arrangements, backing vocals Additional musicians * Nick Villa – drums *

Erik Arvinder Erik Mikael Arvinder, born in 1984 in Stockholm, Sweden, is a Swedish violinist, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, orchestrator and conductor. He is known for his work across Europe and the United States, and for collaborations with interna ...

– orchestra conductor * Anna Roos Stefansson – violin * Brusk Zanganeh – violin * Daniel Migdal – violin * Daniela Bonfiglioli – violin * Fredrik Syberg – violin * Martin Stensson – violin * Oscar Treitler – violin * Sofie Sunnerstam – violin * Tove Lund – violin * Veronika Novotna – violin * Vicky Sayles – violin * Erik Holm –

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

* Mathilda Brunstrøm – viola * Riikka Repo – viola * Vidar Andersson – viola * Daniel Thorell –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

* Filip Lundberg – cello * Pelle Hansen – cello * Walter McTigert –

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

* Martin Lood – trumpet * Johan Wahlgren –

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

* Chris Parkes – French horn * Håkan Björkman – trombone * Mikael Oskarsson – trombone * Jon Fridmann – additional trumpet (track 1) Technical * Justin Raisen – additional production (track 10) *

Emily Lazar Emily B. Lazar is an American mastering engineer. She is the founder, president, and chief mastering engineer of The Lodge, an audio mastering facility that has operated in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1997. She won a Grammy Award for ...

– mastering *

Dave Fridmann David Lawrence Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. Career From 1990 onwards he co-produced most releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. Other bands he has worked with include Weezer, Saxon Shore (band), Saxon Shore, Neon ...

– mixing * Willem Bleeker – orchestra

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Erik Arvinder – orchestra engineering * Pat Jones – drum engineering (tracks 2, 5, 12, 13) * Jon Fridmann – mixing assistance * Oliver Hill – string arrangements, brass arrangements Visuals * Maria Shatalova – exterior art * Zhe Con – interior art * Remi Volcair –

layout In general terms, a layout is a structured arrangement of items within certain limits, or a plan for such arrangement. Specifically, layout may refer to: * Page layout, the arrangement of visual elements on a page ** Comprehensive layout (comp), ...

design

Charts

Notelist

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2024 albums Magdalena Bay (duo) albums Mom + Pop Music albums 2020s concept albums Dance-pop albums by American artists Electronic rock albums by American artists