The indie-pop trio MUNA celebrates joy by returning to Amoeba Music Hollywood to perform a live mini concert for their new self-titled album, “MUNA” on June 27. The multi-instrumentalists Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson, and Josette Maskin, now signed under Saddest Factory Records, carried an acoustic set to fans who filled the independent record store.
The band played a total of six tracks including: “Kind of Girl,” “Handle Me,” “Shooting Star,” “Anything But Me,” and “Silk Chiffon,”off of their recent self-titled album, among “I Know a Place” from their first album “About U”. Despite the collective hurt and what the current state of the world has been experiencing, MUNA said it’s important to celebrate experiences of joy. They said they found joy in their new record, and it holds a lot of meaning for them.
“A couple of days ago we were in an interview and somebody asked us, ‘Does it ever feel dissonant to be putting out music that can feel really joyful, while everything in the world is so shit?’. At first we were really honest, and said well we’re three individuals, and we’re not mutest. We go through periods of time where we’re really despairing and it gets the better of us, but we found so much meaning in this project,” Gavin said.
The last time MUNA performed their mini concert on acoustic at Amoeba Music Hollywood was the day before the release of their second album, “Saves The World ” in 2019 when the record store was on Sunset Boulevard. For their new album, “MUNA,” they partnered with Van Leeuwen where they had an ice cream truck outside of the event and an exclusive “Strawberry Silk Chiffon” ice cream flavor and sugar topping. The band was also selling two exclusive t-shirts for the event.
“When we put out our last record I remember sitting, waiting, and wondering if anyone was actually going to come. I mean it’s like you never know. Putting out music is so vulnerable, for sure, and we just really appreciate you guys coming.” Maskin said. “And there’s ice cream, forget us! We brought the ice cream”.
The first song on the set list for MUNA’s performance was “I Know a Place” off of their first album “About U” released in 2017. A fan of theirs, Alexis Tenorio said she had been listening to MUNA since she and her friend Alyssa Vanaszkiewicz first saw them live that year when they opened for Harry Styles on tour at The Greek Theater.
“They had really high energy and the performance (at The Greek Theater) was really good. When my friend and I (Vanaszkiewicz) finally got to see them as their own performances, it’s the same energy,” Tenorio said.
The last time MUNA came to the event at Amoeba was in 2019. For the event then, they had to purchase the “Saves The World” vinyl (that is no longer pressed) to attend the event which provided a ticket to the show. Vanaszkiewicz who was with Tenorio said her favorites off their new album are “Loose Garment,” “Shooting Star,” and “What I Want”.
“In ‘What I Want’ she (Gavin) says, ‘dancing in the middle of a gay bar’ and I’m like hell yeah,” Vanaszkiewicz said. “We went to Amoeba in 2019 to see their second show (“Saves the World”) and we got it signed. It says, ‘To Alyssa’ and they all signed it individually and they put a little heart on it.”
Another fan of “Loose Garment,” Rachel Lee Millena who had been listening to MUNA since their previous album “Saves The World” like Tenorio and Vanaszkiewicz said she started listening to the band because her housemate was a fan of their music. She had been listening to their new self-titled album ever since it came out on June 24, and said it was what her soul needed.
“They have the piece of their merch that says, ‘MUNA makes sad songs for cry babies, queers, and sissies,’ and I was like yeah, this is good. “Number One Fan” (off of their previous album) is my anthem song. I like to start my drives off to work with it. I love the range they have, like depression you can dance to, and just being gay,” Millena said. “I think with this album it’s what my soul needed. I’m having a honeymoon phase with it because it’s just all I have been listening to since Friday.”
The band said the new record has helped them process a lot of difficult moments in their lives and that it’s important to celebrate the small moments in life that bring one joy. They said they hope listeners can mask the entire experience of emotion while they play their new album, “MUNA”.
“We’re grateful for all of the time we’ve had to grow together individually in this project and the opportunity to get to this space where we’re having these moments of joy. Our wildest hoping is that you guys can find those moments too, and know that it comes with the full spectrum,” Gavin said. “I think we have to especially within these past couple of weeks not be afraid of our pain and to not be afraid of our fear. Really feeling all of those things is part of what gets us to those moments where all of a sudden you have some peace, or you have a cute thing with a cute girl” Gavin said.
Their new self-titled album contains 11 tracks with production from Mitski on “No Idea” and featuring Phoebe Bridgers on the first track “Silk Chiffon”. The next stop MUNA will be performing is in Chicago on July 28, Lollapalooza on July 29, and they officially kick off their North American Tour for the album in Ohio on July 30.
