Photography by Skellyot
Cover Design by Yosef Phelan
Styling by Max Weinstein
Hair by Antoine Martinez
Makeup by Tami El Sombati
Creative Direction by Justin Moran
Production by OTHRWRLD

MUNA is here to be your agony aunt (gender-neutral). A confidant who can listen to your problems and share wisdom on striking the balance between having a fun, sexy time, knowing your worth and staying true to your values. “You’ve got to fuck around and find out. Sometimes you’ve just got to dance on the cliff of a person,” Josette Maskin affirms, referencing the title track of the band’s new album, Dancing on the Wall. 

Almost a decade on from the release of their debut album About U, Maskin, Katie Gavin and Naomi McPherson have built a cult-like following of devoted fans. For their fourth album, the trio have crafted a thirteen-track record that revels in the messiness of queer love and life, and how we’re all connected – whether we like it or not – through shared exes and collective adversity. 

The long-awaited album – their first in four years – aims to unite listeners in the name of community solidarity and queer rage, themes that are most vividly realised on ‘Big Stick’, a two-and-a-half-minute political “call to arms” exposing what MUNA describes as “the hell we find ourselves [living] in”. This seminal body of work is a fuck-you to the people and the powers whom all minorities face. As McPherson notes, “It’s always said that we’re living in such unprecedented times, but they're starting to feel precedented.” 

MUNA’s music encourages listeners to operate on what queer theorist Jack Halberstam categorises as ‘queer time’, a non-linear path, allowing us to deviate, try things out and progress and regress at our own pace; like getting back together with your ex for the fifth time. “There's a lot of messy human behaviour and desire on this record,” Gavin admits. By rejecting the ‘straight time’ trajectory, and refusing to take part in traditional, heteronormative life paths that are anchored to the milestones of birth, marriage, reproduction and death, there’s room to make mistakes, change minds and start fresh. 

Dancing on the Wall teaches us that we truly can have it all: you can stay out late at the lesbian bar, make out with your ex and go home with someone else, but don’t forget to set your alarm and show up at the march the next morning. 

For their Gay Times cover interview, the band offer advice to lost and lonely lesbian-adjacent lovers all over the world – championing messy queers, breaking free from stale situationships, dishing on the gossip dos and don’ts, embracing emotional discomfort and detailing why we should all crush on our friends, as well as with total strangers. 

Claire Mouchemore: Hi Josette, hi Katie, hi Naomi! Congratulations on the release of Dancing on the Wall! Gay people everywhere are rejoicing. MUNA is so back.

Katie Gavin: Thank you! It's anxiety-inducing to release something new, but we're so happy it’s out and really excited to be playing shows and just be back with our fans. We miss them.