Katie Gavin, lead singer of MUNA, has previewed her forthcoming debut solo album ‘What A Relief’ with an acoustic set at Newport Folk Festival.
The performance, which took place on Saturday night, marked Gavin’s first solo show since MUNA’s formation in 2013. The set featured six songs from her upcoming album, including the lead single ‘Aftertaste’, which Gavin performed live for the first time.
Among the new material was ‘As Good As It Gets’, a collaboration with Mitski. While Mitski was not present at the festival, Gavin’s MUNA bandmate Naomi McPherson joined her on stage for the song.
‘What A Relief’ is set to be released on 25th October via Saddest Factory Records. Speaking about the lead track ‘Aftertaste’, Gavin says, “I thought this song would be a good place to start because to me it kind of serves as a bridge, sonically and thematically, between MUNA’s world and the world we are going to with the solo record.”
She adds, “‘Aftertaste’ is a sweet song about carrying a torch for someone, realizing that you are going out to concerts and parties hoping to run into them there. The song is a playing out of a fantasy, really, both because it involves confessing your crush and finding out that it is reciprocated.”
“Naomi McPherson helped me come up with the idea for the video, in which I’m the subject of a nude drawing class, and Alexa Viscius co-directed with me and brought in an amazing team of Chicago creatives to bring it to fruition. Filming in the city I’m from felt very right for introducing this solo work. Back to my roots, if you will.”
Gavin describes the album as “Lilith Fair-core,” drawing inspiration from artists like Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple, and Ani DiFranco. She explains, “This record spans a lot of my life – it’s about having a really deep desire for connection, but also encountering all the obstacles that stood in my way to be able to achieve that, patterns of isolation or even boredom with the real work of love. What A Relief explores and portrays it honestly, without shame.”
The full tracklisting for ‘What A Relief’ is:
1. I Want It All
2. Aftertaste
3. The Baton
4. Casual Drug Use
5. As Good As It Gets ft. Mitski
6. Sanitized
7. Sketches
8. Inconsolable
9. Sparrow
10. Sweet Abby Girl
11. Keep Walking
12. Today
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