PHOENIX— Indie trio MUNA will make a return to Phoenix’s Van Buren concert venue after their last stop in 2022, with support from hemlocke springs. Consisting of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson, MUNA released their fourth studio album in May, “Dancing on the Wall”.
A Los Angeles-based band, MUNA might be best known for their collaboration with indie artist Phoebe Bridgers on “Silk Chiffon,” a single released in 2021. Before that, the band met at the University of Southern California and began to collaborate on music in 2013.
The band signed to RCA Records in the United States and Columbia Records in the UK, but RCA dropped the band from their representation in 2020 just after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Bridgers-owned Saddest Factory Records signed the band in 2021, and the collaboration between Bridgers and MUNA was cemented.
MUNA is an inherently representative band for the LGBTQ+ community, as all three members of the trio identify as queer. Many of MUNA’s songs explore queer identity, gender and sexuality. Online magazine Queerty named MUNA as one of fifty individuals or groups that are “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people,” in 2020.
The Associated Press called the band “[e]lectric and urgent,” and this can definitely be seen in “Dancing on the Wall”. Tracks like “Wannabeher” and “It Gets So Hot” invite listeners to enter MUNA’s world— a world of glitter, freedom and sweat.
Catch MUNA at the Van Buren on Thursday, Sept. 17; GA Admission tickets for sale on ticketmaster.