Music We Love: MUNA

We’ve been MUNA stans for a while now, and their new self-titled album (released last month) only solidifies our full-on fandom. 

I’ve been savoring the slow-drip of singles from this new record (the bridge on Anything But Me is one of my favorites to belt from the car), and once the entire album arrived, it felt like a complete vantage point—which is quite a feat to accomplish in thirty-nine minutes and nineteen seconds. The album feels like a lot of therapy, introspection, and longed-for and realized queer joy. Below, you’ll find a tour through my favorite tracks from the record—feel it all. 

TRACK 1: “Silk Chiffon”

Co-written by Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk (two of my favorite Nashville writers), this song is an anthem for queer love and summer bliss. I saw them perform this live when they were on tour with Kacey Musgraves back in February and it was pure catharsis—this song was built for stadiums. And while I loved the accompanying music video when I first watched it, I’ve only recently joined the “But I’m A Cheerleader” party (the music video’s source of inspo)—I saw it via Cinespia in Los Angeles during pride month. I understand the hype now—it’s a perfect film. 

TRACK 2: “What I Want” 

Finally, a bop for those of us who’ve had a harder time fully fathoming what we want. Growing up in the thick of early 2000s purity culture, I related hard to this one. It’s electric, it’s fun, mysterious, and perfect for a night drive (or dancing in a gay bar). 

TRACK 5: “Kind of Girl” 

I listened to this one on repeat while driving out of the Nashville city limits at golden hour, on my move to California. The tears just kept coming. It’s like my body knew this song was spacious enough to hold me and the dreams that pulled me toward Nashville in the first place, and everything that’s now brought me back west. It’s safe to say this is my song of the year. 

“Yeah, I like telling stories, but I don’t have to write them in ink—I can still change the end. At least I’m the kind of girl who thinks I can.” 

TRACK 7: “No Idea” 

Three things you need to know about this one: 

1. Mitski co-wrote it

2. The breakdown at 2:33 would make Britney proud 

3. Oh, and that it’s sexy. Reminds me of the dialogue from that M. Night Shyamalan movie The Village (blast from the past, you’re welcome):

“And what makes you think that he has feelings for me?”

“The way he never touches you.”

TRACK 9: “Anything But Me” 

This song is the address for my favorite lyric from the record:

“You're gonna say that I'm on a high horse

I think that my horse is regular-sized

Did you ever think maybe

You're on a pony

Going in circles on a carousel ride?” 

Self-aware, self-confidence is a hard cocktail to come by, and MUNA explores that territory here. The bridge gets me every time:

“Sure, it's not all so black and white

Sure, I'm gonna cry

For the love we couldn't keep

But I would rather lose you

Than who I'm meant to be

So you can have anything but me” 

TRACK 10: “Loose Garment” 

For someone who experiences depression woven through their timeline, this one especially hits home. “Loose Garment” beautifully captures the shift from getting lost in sadness and heartbreak to not attaching as tightly to your feelings, no matter how hard they grip you. Yes, they’re singing about a romantic relationship’s end, but to me, the meaning feels even more expansive than that—relationship to self, too. I don’t think I’ve encountered a metaphor I’ve loved more than the one in this short, sonic poem. Placed in the second-to-last spot on the record, this song feels like a landing, an encapsulation of the years of inner work and exploration that the forces behind MUNA have been on in the pandemic years—and if this is what softness toward self feels like, it’s a place you’ll want to stay a while. 

“Used to wear my sadness like a choker

Yeah, it had me by the throat

Tonight I feel I'm draped in it

Like a loose garment, I just let it flow”