Released: June 24
MUNA deliver their finest record yet with their empowering, self-titled third studio album.
After debuting in 2017 with ‘About U’ and making waves with follow-up ‘Saves The World’ two years later, the trio are celebrating five years of music with with an LP dedicated to queer love and relationships.
For their first long player since being dropped by RCA Records, the Los Angeles group, who all met in college at the University of Southern California, explore a broad range of sounds and styles, often returning to synth-pop territory, while showcasing their versatility.
The album opens with lead track Silk Chiffon, an ode to love and a collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers, who signed the group to her Saddest Factory label. It’s a raw opening, but the heat soon picks up on the thumping What I Want, EDM-influenced Runner’s High and synth-laden Home By Now.
For fans of second single Anything But Me – “a song about leaving a partnership simply because it doesn’t feel right” – there’s plenty of straightforward pop moments to whet appetites.
Alongside uptempo breakup anthems, ‘MUNA’ also sees the band look back on their personal experiences and take ownership of their past behaviour, accepting their faults and learning to move on from adversity.
Kind of Girl sees the group look inward, while on Loose Garment they work through earlier mistakes and embrace what’s gone by, while setting their sights on the future.
Thematically, ‘MUNA’ is the group’s most cohesive release yet, and while it shifts between tender, stripped-back numbers and outright bangers, its sequencing pivots at all the right moments, bringing out the best in each track.
Over the past five years, MUNA have established a committed, loyal following who will eat up their latest offering, and it seems now is the time for their career to really take off and hit its stride, bigger than ever before.
‘MUNA’ is available now.