MUNA are back with new music, and I'm more than just a little bit excited

In the last edition of Music Box, I quoted MUNA lyrics in the headline. And not so long ago, I also wrote about how the group's track Loudspeaker is one of my all time favourites.

There's such unhibited joy in their music that it's hard to put any of their songs on and not immediately feel supported by their brand of upbeat synth pop. If I have The Cure for when I want to surround myself in darkness, there's MUNA bring me back into the light.

It's been almost four years since the band released their 2022 self-titled album (the one with the Phoebe Bridgers collab, Silk Chiffon) and although singer and lead songwriter Katie Gavin released a solo album in 2024, it still feels like it's been a long time since we got new MUNA music.

Sorry, I mean felt like a long time.

On a rainy Tuesday afternoon (in London, at least), MUNA posted on Instagram that new album Dancing On The Wall would land on 8th May, and the title track was available to stream right now. So, of course, I put it on repeat for almost two hours.

It sounds exactly like MUNA, but without being overly familiar. It's a magic touch of songwriting and production that they have such a distinctive sonic palette without it feeling overused to the point that tracks all bleed into each other — a sleight of hand also applied on Katie Gavin's MUNA-ish solo album What A Relief.

Although they've never played it live, it's a song that'll thrive performed with a crowd. From the opening moments, it's so easy to imagine people dancing along, and then singing the chorus right back at the band. The sense of shared cathartic longing is powerful, and intentional.

In an interview with Vogue, Gavin said: "We’ve been through a lot, and I’m so much more in love with humans, seeing the way that people are showing up. That’s also in the DNA of this album."

You can hear this desire for connection in the single, too, even if it is unrequited, with Gavin singing, "you’re so magnetic it’s like what’s the use I would wait forever as long as I’m waiting for you."

But it's the wordplay of the chorus that's so intriging, taking a turn of phrase and drawing it out into something unique and relatable: "You’re the wall that I keep banging my head against I’m always saying “this time I’ll get through” I end up with a bruise as a consequence."

Just Press Play

I don't know if you've heard, but MUNA have a new track out: Dancing On The Wall. I've played it about 30 times already, and I'm sure I'll play it more before the day is out. May can't come soon enough.

If I manage to pry myself off that track, then it'll be because I wanted to continue obsessing over Chloe Qisha's Sexy Goodbye. The whole self-titled EP is fantastic, but I keep coming back to this song. It's from 2024, but I already know it'll be high up on my 2026 Wrapped playlist at the end of the year.

I've been on more of a pop streak these past few months, but I've been drawn to the pop/metal blendings President a lot, particularly the track Rage, which feels like a blend of Sleep Token, Killswitch Engage and modern synth-pop.