MUNA - Dancing On The Wall

In a 19-second interlude at the middle point of MUNA’s fourth studio album, the party ends, a step away from the queer euphoria of their 2022 mainstream self-titled breakthrough. The driving club rhythm that runs particularly through the opener and the subsequent title-track momentarily gives way to fury, as ‘Big Stick’ swaps the dancefloor for overt punk protest, and in-keeping with their digital social activism, references misuse of power, corporate censorship and genocide. “I’m a buzzkiller,” vocalist Katie Gavin notes in the record’s final moments, a full stop on a record that frames the vibrancy of MUNA staples love, self-expression and hedonism with a backdrop of socio-political condemnation. 

Referencing riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill as the inspiration for the thunderous post-punk-pop ‘Wannabeher’, the trio pair the ‘80s synths of the sexually charged ‘Eastside Girls’ with the chiming stoner-lament of ‘Mary Jane’, and the atypical drum ‘n’ bass crossover of ‘Why Do I Get A Good Feeling’. It collectively declares ‘Dancing On The Wall’ as a bridge between the darkness of debut ‘About U’ and now, once again embracing heavier moods, yet never a huge step away from the pop-first, genre-experimentation that has underpinned their sound to date. The Los Angeles natives are more cautious in their ecstasy, in equal parts as celebratory, uplifting and outright horny as they are aware and angry, yet as affirmed on the brilliantly rousing ‘So What’, there’s more than enough love to go around.