Los Angeles-based synth-pop duo Magdalena Bay, aka Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, have announced their full-length debut, coming Oct. 8 on Luminelle. Entirely written, produced, performed, mixed and mastered by the band, Mercurial World follows their 2020 EP A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling, which they had the misfortune to release on March 13—the cusp of COVID-19’s North American onset.
Stuck indoors like the rest of us, Magdalena Bay turned their focus to connecting with fans from afar and, of course, making music: “We spend all of our time together, and in some ways Mercurial World is about that particular sense of madness in containment,” Lewin explains in a statement. “We live together and make art together; this immerses you in our creative, insular universe.”
Lead Mercurial World single “Chaeri,” an emotionally charged electro-pop epic, certainly feels like the first steps into a new world of the band’s own. Not only does the song surround Tenenbaum’s Grimes-like vocals with a looming electronic soundscape, but it also comes paired with a cinematic music video (dir. Luke Orlando) that is essentially a short sci-fi film, making for an ambitious release on both the audio and visual levels. It’s a seismic shift away from the carefree, retro-electro whimsy of the duo’s previous releases, but who doesn’t love to see a band swinging for the fences?
“‘Chaeri’ muses on mental health, friendship, loneliness and control. It’s about the walls we put up and the walls we should tear down for the sake of authentic connection, and Mica’s own personal difficulties with that,” the band say of their new song. “We tried taking these themes and elevating them to build a big, dark world with unsettling undertones.”
Watch the “Chaeri” video (plus Magdalena Bay’s 2020 Paste Studio session) below and see the details of Mercurial World further down, along with the duo’s tour dates. You can preorder their record right here.
Mercurial World Tracklist:
01. The End
02. Mercurial World
03. Dawning Of The Season
04. Secrets (Your Fire)
05. You Lose!
06. Something For 2
07. Chaeri
08. Halfway
09. Hysterical Us
10. Prophecy
11. Follow The Leader
12. Domino
13. Dreamcatching
14. The Beginning
Mercurial World Album Art:
Magdalena Bay Tour Dates:
October
08 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Cid ^
12 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair *
13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (Zone One) ^
14 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church *
15 – Brooklyn, NY@ Music Hall of Williamsburg * (SOLD OUT)
16 – Washington DC @ Songbyrd * (SOLD OUT)
17 – Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern *
19 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle – Back Room * (SOLD OUT)
20 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Purgatory * (SOLD OUT)
24 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa #
27 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Company #
28 – Houston, TX @ The Satellite #
29 – Austin, TX @ LEVITATION @ Empire #
30 – El Paso, TX @ The Lowbrow Palace #
November
01 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress #
02 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar #
10 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone #
(^ Headlining shows)
(* w/ George Clanton and Vitesse X)
(# w/ George Clanton and Negative Gemini [DJ Set])
