This article represents only the opinion of the writer and is not associated with the opinions or perspectives of KANM Student Radio or Texas A&M University.

When MUNA released the shimmering and sparkly single “Silk Chiffon” nearly a year ago, June 24th, 2022 became a date of significance for me. After three years of isolating, growing, touring, and producing, American queer-pop trio MUNA was to release their third LP! I’ve worshipped the band’s previous records for years, so I awaited the date with electric anticipation.

That Friday morning, I sunk my teeth into the album as I drove to work, and spent the next eight hours immersed in foodservice-typical adrenaline. I didn’t check the news until that evening: somehow, in my absence from the real world, the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade. Delight at the new release now warred with bottomless, hollow despair.

This dissonance illustrates well the perseverance and optimism that makes this album so remarkable. In a world suffused with inundatory climate disasters, COVID sicknesses and death, and all the political vitriol of the past twenty years, MUNA’s self-titled LP is a breath of fresh air. As a testament to growth, simple pleasures, and coming to peace with oneself, MUNA (2022) teaches listeners how to continue, despite, despite, despite.

MUNA is an electro-pop group from California comprised of Naomi McPherson (they/them, guitarist and producer), Josette Maskin (she/they, guitarist), and Katie Gavin (she/they, lead singer/songwriter). The band has been active since 2015 and is renowned for its impeccable production, foundational queerness, and eviscerating lyrics. But where MUNA’s first two records—About U (2017) and Saves the World (2019)—delivered a couple joyous tracks each amidst poignant testimonies to identity, loneliness, and lost love, MUNA (2022) represents a break from tradition via striking and consistent contentment. 

The choice to release “Silk Chiffon” as MUNA’s glittering first single and opening track was deliberate and wise. The song, with its catchy chorus of “Life’s so fun, life’s so fun / Got my rollerblades and my mini-skirt on”, went internet viral shortly after its release specifically because of its undiluted optimism. It effectively captures the pure optimism of the record as a whole.

This refreshing compilation of contentment can be divided, in my mind, into a three-circle Venn diagram: celebration of queerness, celebration of autonomy, and celebration of potential.

Where MUNA’s first records maintained gender neutrality, their third release features several songs written specifically about women. Tracks “Silk Chiffon” and “Solid” both display affection and love for a specifically-female partner. “Silk Chiffon” explores devotion and dedication within a romantic relationship (“She said that I got her if I want / She’s so soft like silk chiffon”). “Solid” features explicit and repeated use of “she” and “my baby” to admire a partner’s strength and sufficiency (“She’s so solid, my baby’s so so solid”), with a gritty underlying bassline that recalls dance-floor sensuality.

Furthermore, MUNA (2022) reiterates that celebration of one’s sexuality cannot be removed from sex itself. In the past decade, public American perception of the trans and queer community has undergone significant evolution. Accepting and fighting for queer rights and autonomy are, for many, no longer the radical takes they once were. 

But despite these strides, homophobia and transphobia are still rampant, inescapable, and deadly. Many argue that societal acceptance of queerness extends only to its marketability: LGBT people can live freely so long as we adhere to heteronormative standards of what is appropriate. For many, this contributes to debilitating internalized homophobia and self-flagellation as one grows to understand sexuality and desire. Several songs off MUNA acknowledge this commonly-held shame. The group posits, instead, that exploring one’s sexuality is healthy and good. 

Perhaps the best example of this is the record’s electric second track, “What I Want”. The song was described by DIY Mag as an “ode to the frustration felt when you’ve been a restricted version of yourself for far too long”, and its indulgent lyrics, glittering melodies, and pumping bassline mean this song was made for the gay bar. The lyrics present several historically-taboo topics in a more positive light, not necessarily encouraging behaviors but accepting those desires within oneself: the song declares “There’s nothing wrong with what I want”. “What I Want” is a bold, pro-sensuality anthem--a protest to societal revulsion toward feminine desire, especially queer feminine desire. 

This subject is elaborated upon in “Silk Chiffon” (“Makes me want to try her on”); “No Idea” (“You have no idea the things I think about you when you aren’t here”); and “Handle Me” (“I’m not gonna break, I promise / You can handle me / Put your hands on me”). While MUNA is by no means the first group to explore queer feminine sexuality in their music, that doesn’t invalidate the meaning and significance of these tracks. They may not be the first or only group exploring this topic, but any exploration of such topics is significant in a culture so staunchly against them.

The record’s second foundational theme is its celebration of autonomy. In several tracks throughout the album, the speaker firmly expresses boundaries to maintain healthy relationships and a sense of self. This record highlights an in-depth, complete understanding of self that is essential for overall peace and contentment. “Runner’s High”, the album’s third track, specifically dissects the feeling of freedom and relief that results from recognizing your needs and exiting a damaging situation. The song posits that, by affirming boundaries, relationships improve: relationships that are already solid become stronger as both parties learn how to best engage with each other, and relationships that are not fulfilling or healthy become apparent in their weaknesses. Whether communication strengthens or ends a relationship, each party arguably benefits.

The most emblematic track of this self-respect is “Anything But Me”, the record’s fantastic second single. Here, the speaker wishes their ex-lover all the best but still affirms a personal boundary: “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 / You can have anything but me”. Once again, MUNA conveys the merit of acknowledging one’s worth: the speaker maintains a barrier from their ex, thereby fostering a healthier relationship dynamic, which in turn (hopefully) creates a more fulfilling life and self-image.

“Home By Now” embodies that personal boundary while presenting the human, painful response to a breakup. The track’s lyrics are similarly poignant and bittersweet to the band’s first records, acknowledging the rabbit hole of nostalgia-fueled questions (“Do I need to lower my expectations? If I’d been able to grin and bear it, would we be home by now?”). Ultimately the song determines that this is unproductive. While it is understandable to indulge in the what-ifs and consider other ways to have made a big choice, it is important to act with the understanding that you are deserving of a happy life: “These are the kinds of questions to which I’ve resigned my rights”. There’s no need to settle, or stay in an unfulfilling environment. 

In my interpretation of the record, growth is its third and most prominent foundational theme. “Kind of Girl” is a soothing ode to hope and our malleability (“The winds could change at any given time”); and “Loose Garment” tells of an evolving relationship with sadness, from suffocation to gentle acceptance (“I used to wear my sadness like a choker / It had me by the throat”). Both songs are beautiful in their vulnerability.

I have a handful of personal aphorisms that ground and soothe me. Last semester during finals, A&M’s Pride Center hosted an alleviating craft event for every day of testing. As part of one of them, I decorated a tote bag with all my little sayings: “the social circle strengthens and expands”, “every experience is a learning experience”, snippets from poems I like. One saying I like in particular is “the future is bright and full of possibility”—it is! Mine is, yours is—the future is bright and full of possibility!! 

I bring this up because these tracks—this whole record—convey to listeners a similar and much-needed message that we are capable of changing for the better. Dark periods of life are not final; our relationships with our feelings, our behaviors, ourselves are all pliant. You can build the life you want—you hold in your hands a future that brims with possibility.

There is a remarkable tweet from poet Nikita Gill that captures well what makes this record so remarkable. In it, she says, “The news: everything is bad. Poets: okay, but what if everything is bad and we still fall in love with the moon and learn something from the flowers.” 

It is not lost on me that MUNA was released on the same day Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling which symbolized to many an irreparable blow to health and autonomy. This album emerged as we endure year three of a worldwide pandemic; daily mass shootings; the massive ramifications of a worsening climate crisis; global tragedies; fracturing politics. We are worn and weary, asked to bear an endless barrage of terrible news after terrible news. 

But MUNA (2022) declares that an essential part of not succumbing to despair is searching for love and growth amidst all the muck. Even as, as Gill posits, the news tells us that everything is bad, friends can still gather around kitchen tables, dogs will still smile at you on your daily walk, you will still have a chair with sunlight coming in from the window. You can still work in the garden, stretch in the mornings, dance and have fun; you can still experience relief, joy, sadness, pain, rejuvenation. 

Over and over, MUNA (2022) shows listeners a healthy understanding of the self and the many ways growth enriches one’s life. This album says you can still grow into a person you love being--rediscover your happiness and identity--develop habits that build a more peaceful life for yourself. With baby steps, you can build a wonderful life that is worth living, and you can start today. And that is remarkable!

Listen to Claire Hubenak on Own Your Stuff, 12:00 pm Tuesdays on KANM.org