Magdalena Bay is the synthpop duo of Mica Tenebaum and Matthew Lewin. Their sound draws influence from early/mid-2010s dance-pop artists such as Grimes, Charli XCX, and Carly Rae Jepsen — to name a few. They garnered a niche following on TikTok, becoming known for their surrealist and Y2K aesthetics throughout the releases of their mini mixes and the EP A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling (2020).
Their debut album Mercurial World (2021) was an indie pop hit, ranking at No. 7 for top albums of 2021 on Rate Your Music, which is a badge of honor coming from the music nerds of the internet. Magdalena Bay’s sophomore release Imaginal Disk (2024) was no slump — it confirmed that they’re only going up — and is currently the No. 1 album of 2024 on the site. I missed their sold-out show at the 9:30 Club last year, so I knew I had to see them recently at The Anthem. Magdalena Bay played to 5,000+ people — their biggest headlining show to date — and delivered a hypnotizing 25-song set. Seriously, 25 songs have never flown by so quickly at a concert.
At The Anthem on Oct. 25, the band’s stage set had a cloud backdrop with surrealist imagery covering the stage. Mica emerged from the top of this structure and began “She Looked Like Me,” the first track off of Imaginal Disk, and continued into “Killing Time” and “True Blue Interlude” These are the first three songs in order as they appear on the album. It establishes Mica’s character of “Blue True:” a listless, vulnerable character trying to find her place in the world. “True Blue Interlude” is played like an infomercial, beginning with the line, “Say hello, it’s you, the purest you,” convincing her to delve into this mysterious “True Blue” procedure. It can help her reach self-actualization, but will rewire her whole being in the process. The hypnotic synths and vocals from “True Blue Interlude” blend flawlessly into “Image,” which depicts Blue’s deliberations about getting the Imaginal Disk: “But oh, my God, 22 more minutes. Oh, so hot. Meet your brand new image.” In the music video, Blue transforms into “Red True,” but in the live show this transformation comes later.
Watch the official music video for “Image” by Magdalena Bay on YouTube:
From there, Magdalena Bay played two songs from Mercurial World: “Secrets (Your Fire)” and “You Lose!” Both songs have themes of feeling like time is running out for success, and the need to be overly-connected in the digital age. The Imaginal Disk album picks back up with “Death & Romance,” where we get the new character “Ghost:” an idealized version of Mica’s Blue and Red. In the live show, Ghost’s debut will come a bit later. The next four songs follow the story of the album — the stage imagery reflects the other-worldly indoctrination element of the imaginal disk: brains, hypnosis spirals, old computer software, all which is to “upgrade” the user. “I think we love you!” Mica exclaims before beginning “Love Is Everywhere.”
For “Chaeri,” Mica emerges onstage as Red True. Mica invited the crowd to sing the outro “Three, four, down to the floor. Lose control, a little more.” She told the crowd to keep it going, and they did with such an impressive coherence. I think this is the Red True getting the audience ready for “That’s My Floor,” which comes next in the Imaginal Disk lineup. In the music video, we’re met with Red True dancing away amongst trippy visuals and claymation figures. This is easily my favorite off of Imaginal Disk: the funky guitars, catchy chorus, and struttable beat make it an addictive track I keep coming back to.
“That’s My Floor” had an extended drum solo outro that led into the momentous “Cry For Me.” The intro with the synthy orchestra, bouncy bass, and europop beat feels euphoric live. During this song, Mica returns to the “True Blue Interlude” speaking the lines: “Hello it’s you. The purest you. You’ve been there all along.” I enjoyed this callback to the beginning of the set, affirming that the best “you” has always existed. Now, with this coming from Red True, are we meant to believe this is a genuine sentiment, or a cry for help? I think we are seeing Red True accept the consequences of the procedure from earlier in the album.
Mica came out as the Ghost character for “Angel on a Satellite,” which represents the ultimate idealized self. The song begins with Matt on the piano performing a gentle melody. Mica waltzed around in a blue leotard and sheer skirt, and during the song’s outro, she gained her wings. To me, this is a moment of accepting freedom from the disk. The final song, “The Ballad of Matt & Mica” takes it back to a place of reality — being their true selves in their fullest authenticity. The track interpolates “She Looked Like Me!” which opens the album and the live show. Mica waves goodbye and the band goes offstage.
They return promptly for an encore starting with “Killshot,” arguably their most commercially popular song. It gained traction on TikTok as a favored song to make “Fancam” style edits to. The trend mostly seemed to be done with anime characters, and it warped into a slowed and revered version, which the band ultimately released as its own track. During the live performance, they effortlessly transitioned from the regular tempo to the slowed down version — it was rhapsodic.
Watch the official music video for “Killshot” by Magdalena Bay on YouTube:
Magdalena Bay then played “Second Sleep,” which was released on Sept. 26 of this year along with the track “Star Eyes.” Magdalena Bay has since released two more single sets: “Human Happens/Paint Me A Picture” (Oct. 17) and “Unoriginal/Black-Eyed Susan Climb” (Oct. 31). I believe these singles are likely either teasing a new era, or transitioning the band out of the Imaginal Disk era.
The band ended with “The Beginning,” a joyous, dance-pop banger off of Mercurial World. The line “Like a kaleidoscope in technicolor tonight” sums up the evening. Their live show is truly like looking through a kaleidoscope — shapes and colors are warped, and some elements may be unrecognizable, but it creates a wholly unique experience.
Magdalena Bay is definitely here to stay. I highly recommend seeing them live, whether you know the lore or not, it’s a journey worth experiencing.
Here are some photos of Magdalena Bay performing live at The Anthem on Oct. 25, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Carolin Harvey.
