"Saves The World" by MUNA
What if instead of minor chords and aching vocals sad songs incorporated raw lyrics and high-energy pop melodies? In their latest album, Saves The World, pop-trio MUNA counters genre norms by exploring topics of heartbreak and depression through bright synths and house beats. Without taking itself too seriously, the Saves The World is a comforting, innovative collection of instant radio hits, with each song carrying its own impressive emotional intelligence.
“I want to grow up / I want to put away my childish things / I think that I’m ready to take this song off repeat”, sings front-woman Katie McGavin on the album’s opening track. “Grow” is a simple piano intro that trembles with McGavin’s desperation of wanting to move on. Taken alone, its familiar slow melody almost fools the listener into thinking the album will just add to the growing collection of indistinguishable pop songs with “deep” lyrics. But then comes the colorful, pulsating second track, “Number One Fan.” The song fortunately interjects the mood of “Grow” as a hit designed for radio with clever lyrics and monotone vocals that play with the concept of self-love. In the same vein as “Number One Fan,” “Stayaway” follows as a high-energy pop track that could easily pull crowds to the dance-floor, yet the lyrics are raw, heartbreaking and solemnly relatable: “So I don’t see my old friends, I don’t go dancing / I don’t do most things I used to do / Actually now that I’m thinking about it / I did most things to get to you.”
“Stayaway” was the first song of MUNA’s I’d heard that convinced me instantly of the band’s unique talent. Fun musical aesthetics mixed with lyrics that sound like someone heard your innermost thoughts and wrote them down is simply something I hadn’t heard before. When most pop songs attempt this balancing act, it typically sounds like the musician is pandering for something, wallowing in their ‘dramaticness’. Many of Ed Sheeran’s singles come to mind, especially “Happier.” When MUNA does it however, it’s clear the intent isn’t to make it onto the Billboard 100, but to explore a new genre of pop music that is unafraid to be brutally honest and experimental.
The following three tracks are the emotional heartbeat of the album. “Who”, a ballad about a lost love, introduces soaring synths, credit of producer and guitarist Naomi McPherson, as well as jarring electric guitar slides. While the previous songs on the album experimented with heavy pop elements, “Who” as well as “Navy Blue” excel with elements of classic rock--guitarist Josette Maskin creates gritty ripples throughout the track. Indeed, the outro of “Navy Blue” utilizes so many production techniques like panning and tape delay it almost threatens to drown the listener in sound.
“Never” is an epic of a song, switching between a narrative of being done with love and one of being done with music. “I don’t know if I like love, I think I’ve had enough /”, “I don’t know if I like songs, I think maybe I was wrong / to think I could make it hurt less / with a chorus sing-along”. The song maintains a single steady beat until the pre chorus, in which layered vocals are added at varying harmonies. This relatively simple instrumental continues, allowing the lyrics room to breathe, until finally the last chorus hits. “I’ll never sing again,” sings McGavin, followed by an intense beat drop and synthesizers climbing high-pitch scales.
When I first heard this song, I began tearing up within the first verse. Even though the instrumentation is relatively upbeat McGavin’s lyrics give voice to the melodramatic thought: “I’m going to be forever alone, I should give up.” And though I recognized the absurdity of this mindset, recalling my own experiences with it, I also teared up because the song did something special. Even if certain thoughts or mindsets are ridiculous upon later reflection, in the moment, it feels real. And that feeling can be terrifying and extremely upsetting, and so it needs its own space to be validated and felt thoroughly.
In “Never”, those thoughts of giving up on love (or singing, as McGavin also mentions) suddenly aren’t so ridiculous after all. A common theme throughout the album indeed, it's almost as if MUNA is saying it’s okay to feel what you’re feeling, no matter what that may be at any given moment.
The second-to-last section of the album recalls the desire to grow. “Pink Light” reflects on a nostalgic heartbreak, but by the end of the song makes a promise to let this pain go. “Taken” is a Kacey Musgaves-eque track about wanting to have an affair but eventually deciding to give up due to the guilt it would bring. By the time “Hands Off” plays, the album has shifted to a much lighter tone, with brighter melodies and a sense of playfulness. The weight that was amplified in the beginning of the collection has been played through and dissolved.
In Saves The World, MUNA leaves listeners with one overall takeaway: No matter the pain, It’s Gonna Be Okay, Baby.
– Mikayla Connolly