Mercurial World
by Magdalena Bay
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Under The Radar
    Jan 3, 2022
    85
    Their debut is first and foremost a smartly crafted record, full of irresistible melodic hooks and detailed production. The results are all-enveloping and mesmerizing, crafting a glittery pop landscape with plenty of layers to uncover and unexpected new territory to explore with each listen.
  2. PopMatters
    Oct 25, 2021
    80
    Mercurial World is another step in the right direction, adding a cerebral heft (the kind only a full-length collection of songs tends to achieve) to the duo’s winning formula.
  3. AllMusic
    Oct 20, 2021
    80
    That Magdalena Bay also augment their capital "P" pop melodies with industrial textures, shoegaze flourishes, and plenty of funked-out bass grooves means that Mercurial World offers both sugary melodic highs and deeper sonic layers to explore.
  5. Pitchfork
    Oct 14, 2021
    80
    The album is full of these little tweaks and stamps and glitches, and they seldom feel gimmicky. “Domino” is Mercurial World at its most thrilling: the best hooks of the album paced like a video game rollercoaster, maximalist glitter rush followed by sinuous soprano descant. It’s genuinely evocative.
  6. Beats Per Minute
    Oct 14, 2021
    74
    Their new album, Mercurial World, is a careful collection of pop tracks that threaten, but never quite, reach a boil.
  7. Exclaim
    Oct 14, 2021
    70
    The record has big, cosmic questions about time and space and possibility swirling 'round its bejewelled head, but it's at its best when putting these concepts under a microscope.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 30
  3. Negative: 2 out of 30
  1. leumassregor
    Nov 4, 2021
    8
    'Mercurial World' starts off strong and ends strong yet unfortunately has its moments where the spotlight drifts off of it. One moment you'll'Mercurial World' starts off strong and ends strong yet unfortunately has its moments where the spotlight drifts off of it. One moment you'll be amazed, then the next you'll be like "meh". Through its brief moments of inconsistency and underwhelming video game sounding production, there are wonderful moments of beautiful rich synths and effortless transitions. Overall, this is a great and sudden improvement for Magdalena Bay compared to their last project.… Full Review »
  2. AmosLeezy
    Oct 19, 2021
    10
    Absolutely solid pop album, songs are catchy and it got great production, one of the best pop album of 2021
  3. AShinyG1ratina
    Jun 21, 2022
    7
    The Great 2021 Re-Listen - Part 1: Magdalena Bay's Mercurial Soundscapes
    Hi guys, so I'm doing a re-listen to all of my 77+ rated albums of    The Great 2021 Re-Listen - Part 1: Magdalena Bay's Mercurial Soundscapes
    Hi guys, so I'm doing a re-listen to all of my 77+ rated albums of 2021 before the year ends. The first album I decided to relisten to was Magdalena Bay's highly-touted debut album, Mercurial World. While I did 100% understand the appeal on my first couple of listens, something wasn't quite clicking for me like things tend to do with great albums, so I ended up rating this below an 80, at a respectable score of 79.
    I must've been malding from playing Smash or something that day because holy **** did it click on my re-listen. This is almost exactly the vibes I was expecting to get out of the new Porter Robinson album but with absolutely none of the Porter-isms that made me not like it as much as I wanted to. The writing here is whimsical, bittersweet, and lovely. The production is surreal and takes advantage of some of the most wildly beautiful soundscapes I've heard all year. The best examples of this would probably be my three favorite songs on the album, which are Secrets (Your Fire), You Lose!, and Chaeri.
    Something that I definitely didn't appreciate until this re-listen was how great the vocals from Mica Tenenbaum are. They add even more grace to a soundscape that's so other-worldly where you have to do several double-takes per song to make sure you're getting the full picture.
    One thing I want to note is how busy this album is, an aspect that makes it so much more interesting than 99% of the other chillwave albums I've heard. Magdalena Bay's producer, Matthew Levin, isn't afraid at all to incorporate concepts that are incredibly alien to a genre like chillwave such as volume dynamics and overactive basslines. Synthpop producers seem to have an irrational fear of their music being loud, a trait that Levin, thankfully, doesn't share. Some of the synth and string swells on this thing are absolutely orgasmic.

    Yeah, I don't really know what I was missing the first time I heard this. Hopefully there are more albums like this that just click with me on second listen during this event.

    Best Tracks: Dawning of the Season, Secrets (Your Fire), You Lose!, Chaeri, Hysterical Us, Domino, Dreamcatching

    Worst Tracks: Something for 2, Follow the Leader

    Score Change: +5    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »