A new era of Muna has arrived, and the California indie pop group is ready to help you celebrate.
On Tuesday (March 15), Muna announced that their third studio album will be officially released via Saddest Factory Records on Friday, June 24. The album, titled Muna, will see the group embracing a brighter synth-pop sound, according to a press release, and explore new themes. To give fans a taste of what to expect, the trio offered up their newest single and video, “Anything But Me.”
Pounding with synths from the moment it begins, “Anything But Me” sees the trio leaning into an ’80s-style electropop sound, as lead singer Katie Gavin lets her lover know that they just have different priorities in the relationship. “Cause I don’t wanna stick around trying to work it out/ When everything feels wrong,” they sing on the song’s thumping chorus. “But it’s all love and it’s no regrets, you can call me if/ There’s anything you need.”
The music video, meanwhile, takes the idea of being held hostage in a relationship to its literal conclusion, with Gavin, alongside bandmates Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin, finding themselves in various states of capture. Whether they’re bound in a car trunk, or duct-taped together in the shed of a barn, the trio never look stressed or upset — just ready to escape, which they inevitably do.
“‘Anything But Me’ is a song about leaving a partnership simply because it doesn’t feel right. It’s about trusting yourself and your instincts enough to walk away from someone while you still have love for each other and before it gets too bad,” the band said of the single in a statement. “The song embodies the lightness and a playfulness that floods in when you realize that there’s no lock on the door, no one’s holding you back – you can untie the knot and skip into the sunset whenever you’re ready.”
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The trio’s self-titled album will be their first full-length record since they joined the roster of Phoebe Bridgers‘ Saddest Factory label in May 2021. After signing, the band released their critically-beloved collaboration with Bridgers, “Silk Chiffon,” to celebrate their new home. In an interview with Billboard about the upstart label, Gavin had a few simple words about working with Bridgers: “She’s a marketing genius.”
Muna is out on Friday, June 24. Check out the official video for “Anything But Me” below.