We’re getting the best version of MUNA—the candidly queer pop version—ever since they signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ independent Saddest Factory Records label in 2021. The band already passed through D.C. once last September, shortly after releasing their self-titled third album, MUNA. Less than a year later, they found a bigger stage at the Anthem in May. This stop comes in between tours with Lorde and Taylor Swift. MUNA is an elegant record in its austerity, allowing lead songwriter and vocalist Katie Gavin’s lyrics to leap out amid synth beats. Her incisive musings on making love and relationships work are relatable, and humorously so. In fact, “Anything but Me” might have featured the snarkiest opening verse of 2022: “You’re gonna say that I’m on a high horse/ I think that my horse is regular sized/ Did you ever think maybe/ You’re on a pony/ Going in circles on a carousel ride?” MUNA play at 8 p.m. on May 12 at the Anthem. theanthemdc.com. $40–$75.
MUNA
