Magdalena Bay • A Little Rhythm And A Wicked Feeling (2020) [RIYL: future-nostalgic pop]

super-talented young pop duo based in LA who released their debut EP in March (and have a bunch of stand-alone singles preceding the EP). they also make DIY/green-screen videos for pretty much every song they've released which has become essential to their charm and appeal.

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1935549572_10.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S5ukw4YOSg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX6Yr83sK_Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhfs1CzzUPM

(also best pop release of the year imo)

This is great. Thanks for sharing

i remember "the girls" was on my eoy tracks playlist in whatever year but i hadn't checked back in on them, these are pretty good too

I enjoyed this EP a lot, it is very much shambhala done right, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the singer was very influenced by Grimes vocal style, to the point it was a bit distracting

I heard one of their previous releases and thought it was promising. This is better - "Good Intentions" and "Airplane" are gorgeous songs

"good intentions" is so great

the singer sounds very much like charli xcx to my ears which is weird because i don't think she's british and charli sounds very british?

I hear a blend of familiar voices: Charli, Grimes as boxedjoy mentioned, and Gwen Stefani in a couple places

they've released a bunch of new singles over the last few months, this is my favourite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KbkPIjUW-Y

Came across MB while trying to catch up on the year via RYM.

It's been some time since I've heard an electropop band so consistent. Nary a dud in the 20 short songs they've released over the past 17 months. Vinnie (above) nailed the obvious sonic references, I hear some Prince in their melodic tics. Co-sign with Josh, don't sleep on this.

That song ufo linked sounds like Charli in both voice and production now. Love the way it blows up halfway through

really happy to see more love for them!

they just released the second volume of their "mini mix" series which is called mini mix, vol. 2, and they're working on their debut album which is likely to be released next year

here are some tracks from mini mix, vol. 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiATVknOfl4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwl-nF6Uhbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1cEbOoFgec

mini mix vol. 2 is all good but "live4ever" is still the best from it. super excited for the eventual album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ben9qDbrLYU

album Mercurial World out 8 october

this is a huge leap forward for them, excited for the album now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlhIk7iPU9o

this rules

I’ve always loved this group but their new songs are absolutely tremendous

Love this new track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQPXX_eZZAk

this is immense, that wall of noise in the chorus!

Holy fuck at Chaeri, I should have been here earlier.

potential top ten track methinks

will be digging into everything else

"good intentions" is their best track still but "you lose" is my favourite of the new ones so far

I’ve always loved this group but their new songs are absolutely tremendous

― monotony

X2

Yeah this new one is great. Cool video too

Honestly proud for Chris from gorillavsbear / luminelle, the list of artists in his label is fucking amazing: Munya, Magdalena Bay and Helena Deland in particular all have been making some of my favorite music of the past years, and they seem to get better with each release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwjshPNrWtY

album's going to be great

4 out of 4 great singles so far.

album is a total triumph! one of this year's best

highly seconded!! what a joy to listen to this knockout of a record ^___^

and of course the record has circular replay value with “The Beginning” flowing seamlessly into “The End” — beautiful stuff *chef’s kiss*

they put a lot of effort into the segues

Love it, have it on repeat this morning.

Wow, this album is incredible. I liked the first album a good amount, but this is in a different league.

The step-up from this album to the last one is mindblowing. It’s like they skipped a full album of evolving their sound.

Definitely! I can't remember the last time someone did a step-up this huge. I don't want to go to sleep as I just want to hear this album on repeat.

this album is comfort food; there's nothing wrong with this and hey, they do tweak the formula by adding the odd videogame synth, but it is that familiar now-via-80s vibe and sure you can like it - I'm not even sure I don't - but if I see any of you claiming this as some sort of revolutionary step forward during EOY season I'm gonna be very disappointed

not sure why you're already arguing against some strawman. it doesn't have to be a revolutionary step forward to be a very strong pop album that carves out its own niche very successfully. there's plenty to be excited about here even if it isn't revolutionary.

i also don't think this is that huge a step up from last year's EP, it's certainly better but the signs were all there that they were capable of making something this strong.

if you want them at their closest to how i'm feeling now i recommend "good intentions"

OK, may check that

I'll relisten to the album today, see if the hooks sink in further. As I say, I didn't hate my first listen but it did feel like a (slight) nowification of something that's been prevalent in pop for a few years

i think this album also has much more going on than just 80s reference points - obviously that's a huge part of their sound but they're drawing on all sorts of pop sounds (not just the 80s) fairly liberally. it's a little refreshing compared to how pastiche-y this sort of stuff can often be.

That's why I said now-via-80s! It's very much an album deeply informed by the last few years of pop. You Lose! is at least a monster banger

what sort of recent stuff do you mean? 'now via the 80s' makes me think of like, dua lipa or the weeknd which aren't really what this reminds me of

there's a lot of 90s influences too, "domino" and "you lose!" are shoegaze-ish, "mercurial world" is ray of light-adjacent, "secrets" has that thin 90s synth line along with its very 80s synth orchestral hits, "prophecy" is a 90s-ish r&b ballad, etc.

& yeah "you lose!" is very cool, has anyone even done that sort of chiptune-shoegaze before, or at least that well? i do wish the album represented the side of their sound that's keeping up with charli's best work though, "good intentions", "live 4ever" etc.

the only weaker track here is "follow the leader" which isn't bad but just distinctly lacking in hooks compared to the rest

I haven't heard the full album yet but I based on the singles I feel like they are drawing influences from artists whose own influences were from the 80s, rather than directly so themselves

that's basically what I was reaching at yeah

I haven't listened to this album yet, but at least I've finally figured out who imago is on RYM.

i have no idea which 80s-influenced modern pop artists you're talking about as being the key reference points instead. like, i know they love crj but i'm not really hearing that directly or anything. the 80s stuff on this album mostly just sounds like they were listening to scritti politti? while obviously not some revolutionary new sound it's distinct enough from what's going on with 80s revival stuff in mainstream pop or even shambhala stuff

i think the 80s influence is reflected more in their extra-musical aesthetic than really in their music. i agree that their influences are too wide-ranging, it's a bit reductive to just lump all of that into "the 80s," or whatever.

anyway, this is a pretty good album. the pre-released singles and the bookends are the clear highlights for me. the singer seems to take a lot of inspiration from britney.

xp like the modern stuff i can think of that sounds closest to the 80s stuff on this album is pretty much all minor indie acts who loved scritti politti, not the last few years of pop

even their visual aesthetic (which is a very familiar thing), is drawing on 90s early internet ctuff more than the 80s

80s/90s via computer / video game music rather than pop music. reminded of that ford & lopatin record but that wasn't as hook-dense as this

Mmm the ford + lopatin comparison is a good one… but yeah this feels like it has the focus and purpose (and hooks) missing there.

No idea how to label this one tbh… I mean it’s obviously synth-pop, but if I were to do a playlist with it I’d probably pair most of the songs in here with chillwave or vaporwave artists. Post-vaporwave? Post-chillwave?

I’m getting more of an early 90’s vibe than an 80’s vibe from it tbh, but yeah I love the description above that this is more influenced by copies of the copies of the sound than by the actual music of the 80’s or 90’s

Similar artists on spotify is as confused as we are but it seems there’s PC Music fans into it which also makes sense.

this album rules

excited to hear this. Discovered "Good Intentions" from the SOTY noms last year and think I voted for it.

This delivers

this reminds me of niki and the dove

finally listened to this and it's wonderful, some of it feels like it was designed exactly for my interests

I had this on in the car and it was the rare thing that piqued the interest of both my kids — the younger liked that it reminded him of Kero Kero Bonito (his favorite band) and the older liked its sonics.

this reminds me of niki and the dove

― Vapor waif (uptown churl)

Yeah, I had that thought this morning. The last song in particular sounds like something from the second album which has become one of my favourite albums of the last ten years.

This album is perfect and really addictive. Probably my album of the year at this point. Only Japanese Breakfast comes close.

The album flags a little bit after "Hysterical Me" (love that "What a Fool Believes" piano on that track) but still a very good, varied listen. best they have done so far. I really like how "Secrets" is placed on the album, it jumped out more for me. the last song reminds me of Kylie!

*"Hysterical Us"

listened this to bits, it's pretty great throughout.

& yeah "you lose!" is very cool, has anyone even done that sort of chiptune-shoegaze before, or at least that well?

Neon Indian's often-overlooked second album Era Extraña hits this sound hard. It's an excellent record, strongly recommended. "You Lose!" is so close to the sound of that album I wouldn't be surprised if they took some inspiration from it.

This album is ticking all my boxes right now. I don't hear a dip in quality in the second half at all, for me this works all the way through.

Thought I had discovered this band for the first time after going through the 2021 track nominations playlist and have been diving through all their stuff for the last week and loving almost everything I’ve found.

Turns out I had played their track Venice on my radio show a couple of years ago but had forgottem about it, which goes to show I often don’t pay enough attention to the music I already have before seeking out new stuff.

Has anyone seen them live? I’m guessing not too likely seeing the state of live music the last few years, but it sound like they both have the musical chops to carry this off live because they both used to play in the same prog-rock band a few years ago and have a lot of personality in their videos. https://www.discogs.com/artist/7222078-Tabula-Rasa-21

Speaking of live performances i notice this video just popped up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OtpRw0YdpA

dang, i missed they were playing elsewhere in NYC tomorrow and it's sold out.
https://dice.fm/event/3vgpl-magdalena-bay-cecile-believe-18th-feb-elsewhere-the-hall-new-york-tickets

I saw them live last night, and they were great! Just the two of them and a drummer. They did have the chops. They played Mercurial World all the way through, with some brief skits in between songs about an AI named Chaeri. Their projected visuals are excellent and punch above the band's weight, as you'd expect from them.

Great :) Hopefully they’ll make it over to the UK at some point in the near future.

bummed that i missed it. i gotta get back into scanning all the club calendars on a weekly basis.

Missed their sold out DC show. Per reference above I saw this in an online review -- Throughout the show, Tenenbaum and Lewin had been interacting with an AI trapped in the screen behind them named Chaeri. When they exited the stage, Chaeri reappeared, and in PSA-chic, stated, “If you want an encore, please clap now.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXLCHvRsgRQ

The coda on that is probably my favourite part of the whole album and a major reason I want to see them live.

New single and video is great. Love them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxaJ8aiURgU

Am I crazy that I’ve recently noticed she has a very Britney Spears tone to her vocals and enunciations and now I can’t stop hearing it in every song of them?

Anyways love the change in style. This sounds like Magdalena Bay doing a song in Men I Trust’s style. It’s probably the bass, it has the same palm-muted with a pick style.

Britney Spears tone

lol i hear it

not huge on this one but it gets interesting eventually at least

Great single. These guys are the best.

Great tune. They give the impression they can do anything and make it good.

Reminds me of ‘Money Lover,’ one of my faves from them. I like it when they lean sophisti-pop!

their remix of Soccer Mommy's "Shotgun" is pretty great too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itZ8lET8h_s

That remix is awful. Ditches everything that was great about the original (snaking baseline in the verses, shoegazey chorus) and replaces it with a rubbery uninspired disco bassline and fake vinyl crackle. Why?!

Just checked out the Mag Bay album yesterday though, and it's good. Shimmery synth pop. Don't really hear Ford and Lopatin as mentioned up-thread, though. That album is killer.

Bassline* obvs, autocorrect...

That new song sounds like it's off the most recent Clairo album, but then they lay on the interesting textures. It's not quite sticking with me yet.

Mercurial World gets better with repeated listens. I can see where the Ford and Lopatin comparisons are coming from now, esp on Follow the Leader and Dawning of the Sesson. The title track slays.

Follow The Leader may be quietly the highlight. I feel like Neon Indian is another big influence.

New song Unconditional:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQjqyxC97gA

Deluxe version of Mercurial World is up/out featuring the two new tracks, some different mixes, instrumental bits and fifteen 'secret' snippets

I assume the "secrets" come from people calling the hotline that appears in the music video? A pretty fun fan service idea; not sure the results benefit the songs, but I guess this is like the ultimate admission of the monster outside the window in the video linked above.

I just gave this a listen, and I have to say it's not an improvement on the original album. Magdalena Bay said on Instagram that the flow of the album was "super important" to them, but I think the flow suffers significantly.

The Secrets tracks are pretty throwaway, and not many of them are actual secrets or confessions.

Unconditional is an excellent single and every bit as good as the songs on the original album. But it breaks up the flow between Mercurial World and Dawning of the Season, which worked so well on the original.

The 8-bit instrumental of You Lose! is fun but throwaway and doesn't add anything to the album.

The Something for 2 remix doesn't come close to the magic of the original.

Prophesy (Synths and Strings) is nice minimalist reimagining, but it lacks the urgency of the original.

Chaeri (Danny L Harle Remix) is a bad hyperpop reimagining.

Chaeri (Piano and Strings) is a lovely slow-burn ballad.

Dominó (Spanish Version) is pretty self-explanatory.

Mercurial World (Piano and Strings) is another ballad reimagining. The syrupy strings work really nicely.

Overall, I'd say Deluxe is pretty inessential. The original album is much better as a sustained listen.

That said, these tracks would have made a nice little placeholder EP:

1. Unconditional
2. Chaeri (Piano and Strings)
3. Dominó (Spanish Version)
4. Mercurial World (Piano and Strings)
5. You Lose! (8-Bit)
6. Prophesy (Synths and Strings)

Mini Mix 3 now on Bandcamp

it's fine but has nothing on the first two minimixes or the album

or a little rhythm & a wicked feeling

As always they have a meme-y video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgkx28IlFi8

I’m going to let my brain absorb it for a while before making a judgement. I guess if it really isn’t as good they are probably now at a stage where they are keeping the best ideas for any singles/albums.

Think my favourite on any of these mini-mixes is Turning Off the Rain, really wish there was a long version of it.

Nothing on Mini mix 2 actually grabbed me much. 'EXO' and 'Wandering Eyes' on 3 seem like highlights. Personal faves from before the last album are:

Neon
Waking Up
Afternoon In Heaven
U Wanna Dance?
Mine
Ghost