The sophomore album by MUNA titled ‘Saves The World’ via RCA Records, immediately garnered critical acclaim upon its release in September. Tackling topics of self-love, addiction and the experience of growing older, the album represents the different experiences the three members, Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin went through after the success of their debut album, ‘About U’. “I was struggling being on my own,” says Gavin. “I had also made a choice to take time off relationships after a series of failures. I needed to really be with myself.” The lead single, ‘Number One Fan’ emerged just as she was experiencing the first glimmers of admirable acts of self-care. The narrative is one of self-championing and self-sufficiency. “And talking back to the negative voices in my head,” she says. “Having it in song form held me accountable to the path that I was on. I have to make a commitment to self-betterment if I’m going to put this in a song. Because I really care about embodying what I’m singing about.” “You have a choice,” says Maskin. “What are you going to do with your life? What kind of person are you gonna be? Are you gonna be an active participant or are you gonna be passive? Making a second record has made us really engage with each other and ourselves in new ways that I didn’t know were possible.” Gavin remarks on how “brave” her bandmates have been in terms of their disposition to stretch themselves in pursuit of becoming the greatest band they can be. “They really let go of their egos and explored all the possibilities of a song to support my voice. They’ve shown again and again a willingness to be a vessel for the message and to take it all the way to its limit.”
B-Sides met up with MUNA before their sold-out show at The Parish in Austin, TX to talk about the rawness and vulnerabilities in ‘Saves The World’, their anticipation of growing older and more. Check out the interview:
