“Aftertaste” by Katie Gavin, Sunday, August 11, 2024

 


































Many of the songs of the Indie pop band MUNA are about breaking up. The trio is composed of lead vocalist Katie Gavin and guitarists Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson, before releasing their first album Gavin and McPherson dated for three years. What could have been a messy situation turned into a lasting friendship and a critically acclaimed band whose music explores themes of self-acceptance, self-worth, and self-discovery. The band achieved a viral hit in 2021 with the lead single “Silk Chiffon” from their third and self-titled album in 2022.  The band headlined tours in 2022 and the Life’s So Fun Tour taken from the opening lines from “Silk Chiffon” as well as playing a set at Coachella. They also opened for Kacey Musgraves, Lorde, and Taylor Swift. Last month, the band released a live recording of the last date of their tour at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. 


MY HAIR GOT LONG, YOUR HAIR GOT CUT. After MUNA released their self-titled record in 2022, MUNA released a post-album single “One That Got Away” and several collaborations. In March this year, the band resumed their weekly podcast Gayotic with a new season. Then on July 23, lead singer Katie Gavin released the first single from her upcoming solo album, What a Relief, which is set to be released on October 23. MUNA’s fanbase immediately panicked. Was the band that had so many heart-wrenching break-up songs breaking up? Katie addressed these rumors on the July 31st episode of Gayotic in a conversation with the other members of MUNA, saying that the group is not breaking up. Gavin talks about the upcoming project being a personal collection of songs that sound different from MUNA tracks. As a band, MUNA aims for big choruses and hooks. As the members of MUNA are signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ label Saddest Factory, Gavin first showed the songs to the indie folk singer who then recommended that Gavin work with her producer Tony Berg.

 

I FEEL NAKED. On Gayotic, Katie Gavin assures listeners that her solo project does not sound like MUNA songs, except for two songs. The other members of the group chimed in, saying that the first single from the album, “Aftertaste” is one of the most MUNA-sounding tracks from Gavin’s solo project. Katie also said that without “Aftertaste,” What a Relief would lack a single. The country-twinged single musically sounds similar to MUNA’s single “Anything but Me” and lyrically similar to their promotional single “Home by Now.” The acoustic guitar-based song highlights Gavin as a vocalist as she seems to channel Shania Twain or even some of The Cranberries’ Dolores O'Riordan. It follows the trend as many Nashville outsiders have taken an interest in the Country sound. The down-to-earth style is an effective mode of conveying heartbreak and it’s always refreshing to hear country-style songs that adapt the style and refrain from twang. It’s unlikely that Katie Gavin will emerge as a queer Country hit producer, but the variety that this sound promises to give to Gavin’s solo career is exciting as we get closer to the release date in October.








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