Magdalena Bay announce debut album, share dreamlike “Chaeri” video

Over the past four years LA-based duo Magdalena Bay have released a wave of great singles and EPs, slowly establishing their unique and intelligent take on pop in the streaming era. Their DIY approach has never stopped Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin from competing with the genre’s big-hitters on a musical level, with 2020 EP A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling channeling slick hooks and turn of the century aesthetics into euphoric new shapes. Over a year on from that project Magdalena Bay are returning with a new song and details of their first album proper. Mercurial World is out October 8 via Luminelle and today’s announcement is accompanied by a video for lead single “Chaeri,” which you can see below.

In addition to regularly dropping pop gems, Magdalena Bay have also established themselves as one of the music world’s smartest voices online. Their TikTok account is home to everything from fun mash-ups to industry advice while their official website is an early 2000s throwback, a visual aid to their nostalgic pop sound. This parasocial relationship Tenenbaum and Lewin have built with their followers is reflected in Mercurial World. As Lewin explains in a statement: “We spend all of our time together, and in some ways Mercurial World is about that particular sense of madness in containment. We live together and make art together; this immerses you in our creative, insular universe.”

Speaking about “Chaeri,” meanwhile, the band adds: “’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. We tried taking these themes and elevating them to build a big, dark world with unsettling undertones.”

“The End”
“Mercurial World”
“Dawning Of The Season”
“Secrets (Your Fire)”
“You Lose!”
“Something For 2”
“Chaeri”
“Halfway”
“Hysterical Us”
“Prophecy”
“Follow The Leader”
“Domino”
“Dreamcatching”
“The Beginning”

10/8/21: Los Angeles, CA, El Cid ^
10/12/21: Boston, MA, The Sinclair *
10/13/21: Brooklyn, NY, Elsewhere (Zone One) ^
10/14/21: Philadelphia, PA, First Unitarian Church *
10/15/21: Brooklyn, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg * (SOLD OUT)
10/16/21: Washington DC, Songbyrd * (SOLD OUT)
10/17/21: Charlottesville, VA, The Southern *
10/19/21: Carrboro, NC, Cat’s Cradle, Back Room * (SOLD OUT)
10/20/21: Atlanta, GA, The Masquerade, Purgatory * (SOLD OUT)
10/24/21: New Orleans, LA, Gasa Gasa #
10/27/21: Dallas, TX, Deep Ellum Art Company #
10/28/21: Houston, TX, The Satellite #
10/29/21: Austin, TX, Levitation
10/30/21: El Paso, TX, The Lowbrow Palace #
11/1/21: Tucson, AZ, Club Congress #
11/2/21: San Diego, CA, Soda Bar #
11/10/21: Berkeley, CA, Cornerstone #
^ Headlining shows
* w/ George Clanton and Vitesse X
# w/ George Clanton and Negative Gemini (DJ Set)