Music / Reviews
Review: Magdalena Bay, Electric Bristol – ‘A transcendent journey into cyberspace’
What makes a rising pop band stand out in a world of hyper-saturated messaging, streaming algorithms, and a now almost defunct physical connection to the musical medium itself?
While we may no longer enjoy music through a physical format and CDs may be a thing of the past, this predicament takes centre stage for Magdalena Bay on their acclaimed 2024 album, Imaginal Disk.
At the record’s core is a mission to create an intimate and meaningful connection through music in the modern era, manifesting in both its musical and visual cues, such as the album’s titular CD that appears on its artwork.
is needed now More than ever
By combining nostalgic imagery with a sci-fi flair, the band seemed to have proved more than able to tend to a common anxiety for musicians and their fans alike: that one day the format will overrule our ability to derive meaning through listening.
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On the recently rebranded stage of Electric Bristol (formerly SWX) stood two screens fitted into a golden frame that conveyed this narrative visually alongside the four-piece’s live performance.
Opening proceedings with She Looked Like Me was a surefire way of preparing the crowd for a transcendent journey into cyberspace, with co-producer Matt Lewin switching often between keys, bass and guitar while his creative partner and vocalist Mica Tenenbaum stayed put.
Besides the technical prowess on display, there was also plenty of playful theatrics as Tenenbaum switched between outfits and was briefly kidnapped by one of the star-shaped mascots from the band’s internal universe.
The duo juggled multiple instruments, costume changes and theatrics between them
As she returned adorned with a flower crown, she switched between a planet-laden jumpsuit, and later a more ecclesiastical set of angel wings as the band tore through the biggest hits of Imaginal Disk.
During Top Dog, a track from the earlier side of the band’s career, there was time for a pause from the wash of noise and pastel coloured lightshow as a more mellow atmosphere came over us.
Dividing the mood with both the eeriness of a 21st century pop band and a more relaxed pace became a thematic touchstone for the intimate themes of their music amid an overwhelming world of sound and colour.
All this is to say that, in short, Magdalena Bay are making music for people who have an astronomically high amount of daily iPhone screentime but also question why they experience such frequent underlying anxiety.
Their music is a collection of anthems for a generation of young people who yearn for a time when CD drives still came standard in laptops, and they could sit around grainy televisions on a Saturday morning without feeling old.
Whether their music is escapist or a precise meditation on this longing is unclear. But their hope to produce a lasting impression was summarised best by the words of Tenenbaum, who announced at the show’s end that: ‘We’ve been Magdalena Bay, and we’ve only come here for a night, but this moment is now eternal!’
In a pixelated inferno, the screens on either side of the stage shot open as two eyes appeared to watch the baptised crowd while they slowly peeled out into the fresh air.
All images: Benji Chapman
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