MAGDALENA BAY @ ROYALE 9/18
Photography by Rachel Bernstein
Review by Kendal Evans
“It’s here, Imaginal Disk. Say hello, it’s you.”
Boston was sucked straight into a simulation when Magdalena Bay stopped at Royale Wednesday night for their Imaginal Mystery tour.
Magdalena Bay is an alternative synth-pop duo from Miami, Florida, and is currently based in Los Angeles, California. The duo is comprised of Mica Tennenbaum and Matthew Lewin. The Imaginal Mystery tour follows the release of their second studio album, “Imaginal Disk,” which dropped on August 23rd, 2024. The duo sees a lot of love on the underground pop circuit, and for good reason. “Imaginal Disk” has scored high praises from critics and fans alike, with some calling it the best pop album of the year.
The show began with support from Mexican psychedelic-pop duo Valgur, comprised of siblings Hugo and Elizabeth Valdivieso. They began their set with a reading of bible verses in Spanish, which set the tone for their set and prepared the audience for their brand of strange. They donned black hoods, and Elizabeth carried a sword and often wore a white mesh sheet draped over her head. Their entirely Spanish set consisted of songs from their two studio albums: “Zapandú” and “Armaggedon.”
Elizabeth delivered on the vocal end, with her best performance being on their set closer, the title track, “Armaggedon.” Their sound and performance art were dark and sometimes off-putting but worked for the type of music they make and the overall vibe of the set. Valgur will continue to support Magdalena Bay until September 23rd, after which Nourished By Time will take over as the opening act.
Then, around 9:10, we entered Imaginal Mystery. The giant biblical angel set piece lit up with a darting eye, and the instrumentals for the introductory track “She Looked Like Me!” flooded the room. The set piece flashed between different psychedelic, uncanny-valley visuals from the duo’s music videos as Mica’s beautiful vocals captivated the high-energy audience.
The audience remained enamored and energetic as the set continued in chronological order of “Imaginal Disk,” with the next two songs being “Killing Time” and “True Blue Interlude.” During “True Blue Interlude,” Mica welcomed us Bostonians to the Imaginal Mystery Tour. Then, the biggest hit from the new album, “Image,” came on, and the audience went wild singing along. Mica’s performance was all around stunning, with her ethereal vocals, Violet Beauregarde-esque wardrobe, and enthralling stage presence.
The set continued through the chronology of “Imaginal Disk,” sprinkled in hits from the duo’s first studio album “Mercurial World.” My personal favorite track run of the night began with the fifth track from “Imaginal Disk,” “Death and Romance,” and ended with “Tunnel Vision,” all in album order. I was completely immersed in the simulation.
A short while later, the band played “Chaeri” and facilitated some audience interaction. As the bridge began, Mica asked the audience to repeat after her, “Three, four down to the floor; lose control a little more,” and then, “no matter what happens, don’t stop!” The outro was magical as the audience sang the phrase over and again, Matt shredded on the guitar, and Mica delivered insane vocals.
The back half of the set ended with quite underrated b-sides of “Imaginal Disk,” as well as the band’s most popular song, “Killshot,” which got the audience dancing a ton. But even as the tempo of some of the songs slowed, the performance remained extremely high quality and the audience stayed super into it.
The last song before the encore, “The Ballad of Matt and Mica,” got the audience dancing and singing like there was no tomorrow. It acts as a reprise of the first track from the album and of the night, so it gives the show a nice sense of closure. The audience shouted along, “bang-bang!” until Matt and Mica bid us farewell.
For the encore, the duo very ironically chose to perform “The Beginning,” which was actually a great closing choice. It’s a very fun and upbeat track that allowed us as an audience to reminisce on the Imaginal Mystery experience. The refrain, “If you’re feeling low, sit back, enjoy the show,” made me want to relive the whole show over again from the start.
Going in, I was very curious to see how such a liminal album would translate to the stage, and it’s safe to say that I was very impressed. Any pop-music enjoyer should, at the very least, give “Imaginal Disk” and the rest of Magdalena Bay’s discography a proper listen. But seeing them perform gave the album a whole new breath of life and only heightened my high sense of appreciation for the project.
Catching a show is absolutely worth it, as this was one of the most captivating live performances of the year. The Imaginal Mystery US Tour will continue through early October, with dates across the East Coast and the South.
