"Silk Chiffon" by MUNA ft. Phoebe Bridgers, Sunday, October 17, 2021

MUNA is an alternative pop group composed of three friends who studied together at the University of Southern California. The trio self-produced their debut EP and uploaded it to Bandcamp and SoundCloud. The band's success with their debut EP led to the group signing with RCA records and releasing their 2017 debut record, About U. In May 2021, the band announced that they had signed to Phoebe Bridgers' Saddest Factory record label. The group recently released the single "Silk Chiffon" which features Bridgers singing a verse. The song is one of the group's few singles to chart on Billboard, peaking at #35 on the US Alternative chart. 

KEEPIN' IT LIGHT LIKE SILK CHIFFON. I think I first heard MUNA in the awkward teen comedy Alex Strangelove, a story about a high school senior who is struggling to understand his sexuality. All the members of MUNA identify as queer, though, as a lyricist lead singer Katie Gavin often avoided pronouns in the group's earlier music to allow all gender and sexual expressions to relate to the band's music. The group is known for their their dark lyrics. Their latest LP, 2019's Saves the World, is an addictive break-up record, filled with depressing lyrics, but often using upbeat, deceptive chord progressions. Phoebe Bridgers is known as a "serial collaborator," which has made the 27-year-old singer quite a versatile star. So many of my music snob podcasts and YouTube channels praise the singer-songwriter. Some even credit her for saving rock music with her two LPs. In addition to collaborations with MUNA this year, she has appeared on Lorde's Solar Power, The Killers' song "Runaway Horses," Taylor Swift's "Nothing New," Paul McCartney's "Seize the Day," Julien Baker's "Favor" and two songs by Lucy Dacus. 

LIFE'S SO FUN. "Silk Chiffon" is a positive anthem about queer love. Gavin sings about a girl dressed in a silky dress, while the singer is wearing a mini skirt and rollerblades. Silk chiffon is not only what the girl is wearing, but the singer draws a comparison between the girl and the luxurious feeling someone has when "trying on" a light fabric. Phoebe Bridgers, who identifies as bi-sexual, sings the second verse of the song. Bridgers' verse takes the song to another perspective. It is the feeling of someone looking at you "with a 'you're on camera' smile." You feel flattered and you forget that you're "feeling anxious" about whatever's going on with your day. There is only one dark element of the ordinarily dark pop group's latest single. The video, directed by Ally Pankiw, a writer for Schitt's Creek's final season, develops a love story between a camp counselor (portrayed by Bridgers) at a conversion-therapy camp and a girl who was sent away to the camp (portrayed by Gaven). By the end of the video, some of the camp attendees break free and go to a gay bar. Even some of the counselors (Bridgers included) break free from the restrictive camp. It seems that in recent years, the media has shed light on gay conversion therapy camps. In August, director Ryan Murphy released the Pray Away documentary, which follows the dissolving of Exodus International and about former leaders in gay conversion therapy who have changed their views on the practice and embraced who they are in the LGBT community. The adolescent feeling of "Silk Chiffon" for anyone who is becoming aware of their same-sex attraction may be entangled with religious push-back. Mine certainly was. But eventually you have to jump onto the back of the pick-up truck and ride into town. Staying on the farm leads to a life of misery and constant lying to yourself.

Read “Silk Chiffon” by MUNA on Genius.