Following the release of their first major label drop, 2016’s Loudspeaker EP, MUNA’s rapid rise in the electro/synth pop game is proving to be worth more than a look. Based out of LA, MUNA consists of Katie Gavin (vocals), Josette Maskin (guitar) and Naomi Macpherson (guitar). Immediately attaching to all things experimental, it wasn’t until both Maskin and Macpherson united with Gavin that MUNA’s now electro/ synth pop sound was found. Without being marked as a “queer girl band”, all three members of MUNA identify as queer. Making note and understanding just why this attribution is important to their sound can only be achieved upon peeling back the layers of their material.
If you’re looking for a metaphor, their 2016 Loudspeaker EP is like that warm fuzzy joy you feel in your gut when you finally acknowledge you’re crushing hard on someone. Left with a feeling confused, Loudspeaker achieves that first kiss like tease leaving you waiting and wanting more. What that 2016 taster leaves you with, their full length debut album About U reignites, but with the added time for something a little more deep and meaningful. We probably got a little carried away just then, but it’s the honest truth. MUNA’s 2016 Loudspeaker EP teases their full length debut About U’s potential.
If HAIM, CHVRCHES and Shura had a love child (or children), the end product would surely be MUNA. At various stages, About U swerves into the lanes of all three of those big names.
About U is one of the most accessible pop records of the year thus far. At face value, the record ultimately embodies all that is great about electro/synth pop genre right now. Everyone will find themselves attaching to a different song but, for us, we cannot go past opener So Special. Yes the track was released as part of their 2016 Loudspeaker EP but, it’s a song that packages all that is great about HAIM, CHVRCHES and Shura and provides MUNA with a legitimate anthem.
So Special has it all. The bassline is what you’d expect from a piece of electro/ synth pop, but the real highlight, aside from the heartfelt anthem like euphoria, s the song’s immaculate guitar work. The guitar work helps to separate So Special from that “boring old generic synth pop” group and places it into the legitimate big time anthem category (a similar example is Shura’s stunning 2016 debut Nothing’s Real).
Again, everyone will find themselves attaching to a different song but as a whole there really aren’t any ‘bad’ songs on About U. But if we had to pick that one song we’d happily skip then go no further than Everything. Sound-wise and lyrically it’s a fragile tune, but it’s such a drag that it takes over two minutes before the song really kicks in. Sidenote, this song would totally suit a late 2000’s teen drama.
As stated above, this is one of the most accessible pop records of the year thus far. MUNA are showcasing some of the most polished sounding electro/ synth pop music going around, all while throwing in great stories. From start to finish About U is a body of work that isn’t just great for the genre of pop, it’s great for music as a whole. If you’re looking for something to hold until new HAIM drops or even ride that taste Shura left you with from 2016 Nothing’s Real then MUNA’s full length debut About U is the perfect soundtrack.
In collaboration with our friends at The Interns we have also just unveiled MUNA as a member of our Future Class Of 2017. You can read MUNA’s Future Class Of 2017 feature in full over here.
- Words by Harrison Kefford who tweets here.
