MUNA‘s Katie Gavin has announced her debut solo album. What A Relief is due out on October 25 via Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records, and Gavin describes it as “Lilith Fair-core.” She says, “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.” Mitski features on one song, “As Good As It Gets,” and you can see the cover art and tracklist below.
The first single is “Aftertaste.” “That song takes place inside of the magnetic force, when I’m really drawn to somebody and still feeling like it’s gonna work,” Gavin says. “Sometimes it’s fun to surrender to that feeling – I think a lot of songwriters have a strong relationship with romantic fantasy.”
“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.”
About the video, she says, “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.” Watch that below.
Gavin is also going on a solo tour this fall, and giving her debut solo performance ahead of that at this weekend’s Newport Folk Festival. She’ll be in NYC for a show at Bowery Ballroom on December 10. Tickets for that and all dates go on sale Friday, August 2 at 10 AM local, with various presales starting Tuesday, July 30 at 1 PM local. See all dates below. UPDATE: She’s added second shows in NYC ( Bowery Ballroom on December 11) and Los Angeles.
MUNA also play All Things Go in NYC, and they have Brooklyn podcast shows coming up on September 30, October 1, and October 2 at The Bell House. Over the weekend, they joined Alanis Morissette on “Ironic” at day three of Pitchfork Festival.
KATIE GAVIN – WHAT A RELIEF TRACKLIST
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
KATIE GAVIN: 2024 TOUR DATES
July 27 – Newport Folk Festival – Newport, RI*^
Sep 7 – Evanston Folk Festival – Evanston, IL*
Sep 11 – The Old Church – London, UK^
Nov 19 – Neumos – Seattle WA^
Nov 20 – The Old Church – Portland OR^
Nov 22 – Bimbo’s 365 Club – SF, CA^
Nov 24 – Pappy + Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA^
Nov 25 – Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever – Los Angeles, CA^
Nov 26 – Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever – Los Angeles, CA^
Dec 8 – The Blue Room – Nashville, TN^
Dec 10 – Bowery Ballroom – NY, NY^
Dec 11 – Bowery Ballroom – NY, NY^
Dec 13 – The Atlantis – Washington DC^
Dec 14 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA^
Dec 16 – The Great Hall – Toronto, ON^
Dec 18 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL^
* w/ MUNA
^ headline
