Mercurial World (studio album) by Magdalena Bay

From corenfro 10/22/2022 15:41

From 2019 to 2020 they released a lot of singles and EP's... and I mean A LOT. Up to this point, they had several albums worth of music, released as singles and EP's. Most of it very high quality, along with their presence on Tik Tok, YouTube and Twitch so there was speculation over whether they'd release a full length album and if they'd be able to break out of the EP format and what it would be like when they released an official debut album.

Enter Mercurial World: a modern synth pop concept album with tightly integrated themes tying together banger after banger with the most consistent track to track transitions and narrative building in recent history. There's so much good on this record and it blends a variety of pop, electronic, and dance styles. There's everything from deep house to hyperpop to the 2010s 80's revival synth pop sound,

Since the release of this record Mag Bay has been aggressively touring, connecting with fans on weekly livestreams including multiple deep dives into the production showcasing their world class music creation capabilities, and released a deluxe version of Mercurial World in lieu of an EP, with excellent new tracks, and expanding on the Mercurial concepts with hidden secrets.

The spiritual successor to Pop 2, What's Your Pleasure, Art Angels, Currents, and How I'm Feeling Now, I think this is only the start and the tip of the iceberg from what is to come from Magdalena Bay. One of the best records of the decade so far and most promising active alt pop artists.

Edit: if y'all keep sleeping on this imma bump this bitch up to a 90 just to spite the boomers

“Mercurial World” is whimsy well layered piece of synth pop. The whole album feels embraced in joy with the slight undertone of bittersweet. Each song has distinct melody that fits the vibe. Tenebuam has a great ability to swing her voice back and forth in a mesmerizing fashion. The production is lush with a particular emphasis on the bass and the drums. “Secrets (Your Fire) has an almost G-funk lead that transforms in a synth march with a steady baseline. The weakest point of the album is the songwriting. There is a lot of alluding to feelings but very few are explored with much depth. The center of the album is noticeably less catchy than the beginning or ending. “Mercurial World” is a sweet treat than could be a little more filling.

From mdbaxter 01/11/2022 17:40

Really fun listen. As pretty and as candy-coated as can be but also gets out there too. Very creative. Basslines and transitions are *fire*.

Opulent, infectious and immaculately cheerful synth-pop. I don't think anyone making music right now is having more fun than these two.

Album Rating: 68.23
(887/13)

I wasn’t a huge fan of last year’s EP (‘A Little Rhythm And A Wicked Feeling’) and initial thoughts are that, although a slight improvement, this album lacks something. There are no particularly weak tracks - far from it - but there is nothing that grabs me either. It’s like it’s been created by a synth-pop algorithm aiming, and hitting, 6 or 7 out of ten per track.

The Madonna influenced ‘Mercurial World’ and stabbing synth of ‘Domino’ are my two highlights.

Perhaps I’m being harsh.

It’s clearly highly rated on here and in the media. Will revisit when in a better mood.

I’ve been listening to ‘Warnings’ by ‘I Break Horses’ (2020) quite a bit recently and much prefer that personally.

1. The End - N/A
2. Mercurial World - 79
3. Dawning of the Season - 70
4. Secrets (Your Fire) - 69
5. You Lose! - 68
6. Something for 2 - 68
7. Chaeri - 70
8. Halfway - 63
9. Hysterical Us - 54
10. Prophecy - 64
11. Follow the Leader - 61
12. Domino - 82
13. Dreamcatching - 68
14. The Beginning - 71

From Mercury 10/12/2021 14:53

(Consistent and cohesive debut LP from Magdalena Bay. Some top-tier synthpop - creative, catchy and quite beautiful.)

I am a fan of this album. The things I love about great synthpop are here in droves. Those being a charming childlike wonderousness that is infectious when you listen, lots of catchy melodies, vocals that float along over the tracks like some sort of fairy spirit, and of course lots of tracks that can be danced around to like a wild person or can be enjoyed while sitting and dreaming about whatever it is you dream about. Synthpop isn't one of my go-to genres by any means, but this is being an exceptional version of the genre, I can say that I am enough of a fan of what this duo is doing with this style to consider this one of the better albums of the year.

The album is indeed pretty consistent. That said the opening run of tracks from the opener "The End" through track 7 "Chaeri" is a good deal more excellent and catchy to me than the last half. Note: This may be due to the simple fact that I listened to the first half of this 3 times and got interrupted each time, so I only have heard the album in its entirety twice, but that opening half 5 times. Idk, that is probably contributing to my current take that the first half is superior. Still, even now, I can say that the 1-2 punch that ends the album is just as good as anything at the start (except maybe "Secrets (Your Fire)" which is song of the year material to my ears).

The music here is dreamy and somewhat osychedelic, its got moments to inspire dancing and moments to inspire quasi-philosophical contemplation. And each track is stitched to the others in a smooth and seamless way. The album works really well as an album and not just a series of seperate tracks with occasional total standouts.

I don't have much of great intelligence to say about this one (go figure) but I think its really quite beautiful and its recommended to everyone but ESPECIALLY to those of you craving a great pop album. This is perhaps the best and most bubbly and gorgeous pop album of any variety I have heard this year. Stellar debut album as well. This is a super impressive way to start your LP career.

From pjohnsongolf 10/08/2021 18:00

Some of the most beautiful, catchy, and fulfilling synth pop I’ve ever heard. This is 46 minutes of pure bliss