MUNA nicknames themselves the “greatest band in the world”, and I believe that as an understatement. They are not simply the “greatest” band in the world, nor the best “queer band” in the world or the best “indie” band in the world. They are the best band in the world. Period. There is no secondary descriptor one can put in front of the band: consisting of Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson, and Josette Maskin, the band MUNA is revolutionary in a time of facism and fear mongering by the US government.

Earlier this month, on May 8th, 2026, MUNA’s album entitled Dancing On The Wall was released. Dancing On The Wall is the band’s fourth studio album, released under Phoebe Bridgers record label Saddest Factory Records. The band’s 13 song LP is filled with songs of heartbreak and avoidance (“So What”) to classic pop songs (“EastSide Girls”) Every song on the album is intricate in every decision, from lyrics to production, and you can tell when you hear the songs! 

The opening track of the album “It Gets So Hot”, is a song you’d probably hear at a gay club. It immediately drops you into the world of the album, which according to MUNA: “We're Trojan Horsing Sad Lesbian Music Into the Gay Club”It Gets So Hot is a rush, almost as if you’re mid running a marathon when the song starts. Its production, much like the album as a whole, is insane. Done by the band’s own Naomi McPherson, it personally reminded me of early Caroline Polachek (think songs like Door or Sunset). Both MUNA and Polachek are not afraid in the slightest to be different, to be weird and loud. Not loud in an annoying way either, but loud in a powerful way, holding a presence of greatness that they are not ashamed of. Similarly, songs like Dancing On The Wall (the band’s single and album title) and On Call also have stellar production, especially the last minute-ish, where it almost sounds like the lyrics are being bounced back and forth in some sort of conversation? If that makes sense?

Eastside Girls is a general fan favorite (and in my opinion should be a promotional single!) With catchy lyrics, a super fun beat, and a bridge that, although I didn’t 100% understand at first listen, has become irreversibly stuck in my head for the foreseeable future. It’s catchy and funny and queer and seeped in exactly what MUNA does best. I will be memorizing this bridge before October 2nd:

“Nashville, London, negroni with the nice gin

Austin, Paris, f**k, she's non-monogamous

Roleplay, ren faire, gender-confirmation care

House show, studio, roommate drama, rent control…”

So What, MUNA’s second single is heartbreaking, covered up by a pop song. Similar to some of my other favorite artists like SZA and Lorde, they all love to make a really catchy song depressing! The song starts as a classic MUNA song, which is to say amazing! It’s confident and fun and almost impossible to not dance to (albeit badly, but still). But as the music fades at the 2:45 mark, confusion starts to linger. Why is there still almost two more minutes of the song if it’s over? What proceeds is a clear scene of me, jaw dropped, walking to the train station when this song first drops and bawling at 9 AM over this production. One simple repetition of a phrase “So What / If you don’t love me?” turns from a “f**k you” anthem into a mental breakdown in less than a minute. At the beginning of the song, the speaker of the song tries to convince herself she’s fine; that she’s over it. She has everything she’s ever wanted: “The party, the premiere

The opening, I get invited… and I feel great if you can’t tell, lots of people love me…” The logic seems simple: look at all these amazing opportunities, all this success, all this love that surrounds me. So what if one person; like an ex-lover, or ex-something doesn't love her anymore? 

But that’s what the ending of the song proves, that it’s a lie. “So What” is not a statement of not caring, but in fact the opposite: caring too much. You do give a f**k actually, so much that you’re using the excuse as a coping mechanism to manipulate yourself. It’s a familiar circular cycle: you have all of these things in your life that are amazing so you don't care! "SO WHAT" if they [lover] didn't love you; look at all the amazing opportunities you got that they missed out on by not loving you. AND YET SIMULTANEOUSLY, you can answer that question with the same phrase, "SO WHAT?" You're still bringing the ex lover up 24/7, so it's not “so what”! You do still care deeply, you just wanna lie to yourself! You’re just saying “so what” in order to cover up the fact that you’re still down bad, and you still care too much about someone who probably could care less about you.  Because if it really was “so what,” you wouldn’t still be bringing this person up over and over and over again. The single captures a familiar contradiction of heartbreak, whether romantic or platonic: you can have an incredible life, be surrounded by people who love you, have all the success in the world, and still feel absolutely gutted by the absence of one specific person in your life. It’s the beauty of the human experience in a pop song.

Mary Jane is a familiar sister song to So What, a pop song about an unavailable partner, as the speaker practically begs for their lover: 

“You know that I would've changed my name

Made a home to go up in flames

I gave you love, you just gave me pain

'Cause you only want to marry Mary Jane”

The repetition of “marry mary jane” is so catchy and goes to show how versatile and clean MUNA’s production is! It never disappoints! (Actually I take it back, just did some Reddit sleuthing and apparently it’s a euphemism for weed. I feel like a f**king idiot)

Big Stick is an overtly political song about control (government control, state surveillance, etc.) within the context of American imperialism. Released on BandCamp for two days as a promotional single, MUNA discussed the song on Instagram by stating: 

“our new song big stick is now available for purchase on bandcamp for 48 hours only in support of @pal.humanity, an organization providing communities in the north and south of Gaza with essential supplies, medical care, and a school for grades K-12. this is a song that speaks directly to the hell we find ourselves in. we are with you and we are angry and we won’t be silenced. love you and thank you for giving us this platform, we will never take it lightly.”

From lyrics discussing military rule, female insecurity, media control, Palestinian genocide, ICE raids, and more; its a much darker track that stands out. Not only because of the subject matter, but because of how seeped it is in reality. It’s angry at the state of the world right now, and they’re not sugar coating it by discussing money or fame or success. It's horror at what we have become. 

“Make you want to build an army and wage a war

Make you want to show the world what America's for

And how America gives more than America takes

We give weapons to dictators in apartheid states

We give kids in Palestine PTSD

But we'll never f**king ever give them something to eat

And if you've got a problem with it, you could end up in jail

Send you to Louisiana, million dollar bail”

Why Do I Get A Good Feeling is the albums second to last track, a song that feels similar to So What in the tone of hurriedness. It’s a rush, a frenzied dance that’s almost familiar with urgency. But where “So What” appears as a slow unraveling of the lies we tell ourselves, “Why Do I Get a Good Feeling” explodes almost immediately. The song feels frantic from the very beginning; it's loud and chaotic; a rush of adrenaline disguised as a dance track.

Listening to it feels like searching for something you’ve misplaced in the middle of a panic. The opening lyrics point to this as well:

“Let me just look around

Must be somewhere, know I had it when I came in

Folded in a coat, tucked into the armchair

Must've misplaced my common sense…”

It’s the sensation of destruction: turning over tables, ripping through drawers, throwing clothes across the room, desperately trying to find something before time runs out. It’s a race against time which McPherson perfectly mirrors in said production of the song (take a shot every time I talk about MUNA production you’ll die!). The production mirrors that exact feeling: restless, messy, constantly moving forward without ever fully settling. This is shown further with the chorus, where it’s seen tripping over itself: “Why do I get a good feeling? Why do I get a good— Why do I get a good feeling?” It’s a panic, slowly seeping in your body. And this tone just continues near the end of the track; with the same repetition over and over. The song then does a total 360 shift at the end, with the repeated lyrics of:

“Don't ask why, close your eyes

Close the door and feel it, feel it”

The repetition of these two lines for the last two minutes of the song also go to show the reliance of the sense of touch, both in this song specifically and in past MUNA songs. In MUNA’s song What I Want from their 2023 self titled album MUNA, Gavin sings: “My hands are shaking, it's psychosomatic / That's how bad I want what I want” Similar to the above line in “Why Do I Get A Good Feeling”, the need for touch is emphasized (“feel it” and “psychosomatic”). Both of these are based on a core sense, touch, and the importance of actually feeling something real and tangible (whether as an escape or as a sense of freedom is dependent on the listener), but both songs are grounded in the sense of touch either way.

As a whole project, MUNA’s fourth studio album Dancing On The Wall is human to a fault. It’s messy and contradictory in songs like “So What” but it’s real; it’s alive. Whether through emotions like resentment and anger to pure, carnal desire that runs through every MUNA project (and I say desire with multiple meanings: lust, anger, desire for change, etc.) it never strays from its core message of hope. MUNA reminds us that as fucked up as the world is, and as horrible our lives can be as human beings on a day to day basis, we must never give up hope. We must rely on each other, we must rely on community and friendship and care and love, because we have no other choice! It’s cathartic at the end of the day, to listen to songs that let you dance and scream and cry in the emotional messiness of life instead of simply drowning in it silently.

With MUNA announcing their upcoming “Gets So Hot Tour,” kicking off in September, the album feels destined to be performed in a crowded room: a sweaty venue with broken AC, a crowded dance floor surrounded by your best friend, a group of people screaming about heartbreak and joy and anguish. Personally, this tour is extra special to me because it’ll be my first time seeing the band live since discovering their music! I will be going with one of my best friends from my freshman year of college, which funnily enough one of our first conversations ever was about MUNA! We have grown so much as people, and I am so so excited to celebrate at these MUNA shows, especially in my hometown of Boston!

Dancing On The Wall never offers easy answers or clean resolutions to the problems we face, whether heartbreak or jealousy, but instead reminds us that that’s what makes us inherently human. We make mistakes, we’re messy and sad and f**k up a lot, but we must rely on each other to make it past another day! :)