Band Releases Album With Rougher Sound and Political Themes

The alt-pop trio MUNA released its new album Dancing on the Wall this week. The record features a rougher sound than the band's previous self-titled release, with metallic edges and brash production instead of the polished style heard on tracks such as Silk Chiffon.

The band formed in 2013 while attending the University of Southern California. It released its debut EP in 2014, signed with RCA Records, and later issued three albums between 2017 and 2022 before being dropped by the label.

The group built its own studio and recorded by running sounds through amps and microphones rather than relying solely on digital processing. Members said the approach captures the feeling of the room and grounds the tracks in a specific time and space.

The album's visuals use bright, over-saturated images splashed with blood-red and pitch black. The band cited inspiration from new wave music and parallels between Cold War-era anxiety and current conditions.

Band members described the record as reflecting a sense of impending doom and the challenges of finding catharsis without centering joy. One track titled Big Stick draws its name from a historical foreign policy phrase and addresses what the band called hard power and terrorism tactics. The album is available now.