Mercurial World

On their debut full-length album, 2021s frothy and addictive Mercurial World, Los Angeles duo Magdalena Bay smash all of their varied synth pop, disco, and electronica influences into a big, sparkly blender and pour out one dazzling pop smoothie after another. While a fitting analogy for their sweetly attenuated and endlessly cross-pollinated sound, it somewhat under-sells the skill and songcraft that vocalist Mica Tenenbaum and instrumentalist Matt Lewin bring to their work. With her cherubic croon, Tenenbaum is an enticing dichotomy, a baby-voiced Kate Bush whose sultry lilt somehow evokes 80s Madonna just as easily as it does 70s Minnie Riperton. Its a knowing vocal style that would be easy to dismiss as a kitschy, postmodern bit if Tenenbaum werent also such a gifted singer. Adding to the broad stylistic flow of the album is Lewin, whose production and arranging skills deftly straddle the line between the earthy soul of Quincy Jones and the hypnotic dreamscapes of M83. Tracks like Dawning of the Season, Secrets (Your Fire), and Hysterical Us are cheeky, endlessly hooky songs that find the duo drawing upon such specific influences as Gwen Stefanis solo work, the 70s disco of Chic, and 2000s Britney Spears. Equally compelling are cuts like You Lose! and Chaeri, fuzzy 8-bit anthems that build to gargantuan moments of cinematic Smashing Pumpkins-esque grandeur. That Magdalena Bay also augment their capital P pop melodies with industrial textures, shoegaze flourishes, and plenty of funked-out bass grooves means that Mercurial World offers both sugary melodic highs and deeper sonic layers to explore. ~ Matt Collar