The Singles Jukebox

Hang on, this isn’t an ode to their favourite Sugababe?

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[7.75]

Lauren Gilbert: It is frankly a hate crime for MUNA to release this while I’m still in (indefinite, infinite) quarantine. This song makes me want to kiss a girl I’ve just met in the California sunshine, and pull her closer as I’m high on endorphins, thinking that this one might be the one. I want to move my body, to have a bright, beautiful queer life. Bridgers’ guest verse brings almost Swiftian specificity to a song designed for spinning like a girl in a brand new dress; in an instant, I am returned to hazy half-memories of standing in a Target and realizing I wanted to kiss the girl I was there with. I didn’t then, but I still can — I still can go dancing, I can roll down the windows and turn up the volume; I can experience the purest of queer joy.
[10]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: MUNA and Phoebe Bridgers singing about the texture of the women they sleep with feeling like silk chiffon on their skin — while also talking about their anxiety — unlocks a whole level of queerness I didn’t even know existed. This can be read as a masterpiece of camp and a sincere ode at the same time. 
[8]

Jeffrey Brister: After relating to MUNA through tender, icy songs of heartbreak or resilience in the face of adversity, it’s nice to hear something that radiates with pure joy. It lacks the emotional heft of “Winterbreak” or the absolute euphoria of “I Know A Place“, but sometimes a song doesn’t need to swing for the fences to be enjoyable. Unrestrained happiness is its own reward.
[7]

Ian Mathers: I know summer is, at least around here, staying longer and longer every year, but it still feels a little unfair to put out a song in September that I want to be listening to in a car driving around with the windows down.
[8]

Nortey Dowuona: The shivering synths underneath the glittering guitar are so pretty, and Katie’s voice is so vibrant and silvery, that it’s almost a pity when the drums hammer down and the bass slinks in. But when Phoebe drifts in from her painting, she feels indistinct, and the beauty of the arrangement slides back in as the mix contracts. Now MUNA and Phoebe can circle each other and float across the walls, taking flight around the castle with the bass trailing after them into the night.
[7]

Will Adams: For a band that initially marketed themselves as “dark-pop”, MUNA fare surprisingly well with giddy love songs. “Silk Chiffon” is essentially “In My Way” — a pop-rock gift wrapped in a bow — with an extra five coats of sheen and an overtly queer lyric. Katie Gavin’s writerly tendencies distract occasionally (a CVS meet-cute feels too on the nose), but it’s all about the chorus: the cry of “SILK!” that echoes over the surging guitars, the punctuation of “chiffon” that follows, and the elation of “that’s how it feels when she’s on me.” The line repeats, as if Gavin is at a loss for additional words, but that’s what happens when you fall head over heels.
[7]

Leah Isobel: I like that “Silk Chiffon” builds on Saves the World‘s 90s-alt influences; it’s basically “Good News” recast as a gay love song, with some of the scene-setting from “Taken” thrown in for good measure. It feels a little less specific than those songs, though. I can’t tell if that’s because it gallops through the verses to get to the pre-chorus hook, or because the chorus and bridge are more melody than lyric (a bit of a downer for a band that writes lyrics as well as they do), or because Phoebe’s quavery star power pulls focus from Katie’s best vocal to date. But also, who cares? The world could use more gay love songs.
[7]

Hannah Jocelyn: I’ve never been in a place to escape into MUNA’s world, and I’ve grown more than tired of Phoebe Bridgers’ winking chaos. Indeed, Bridgers’ verse about being Stoned At The CVS Pharmacy prevents full immersion; she just can’t help herself. But that group shout of “SILK!”, that 1/4 triplet phased delay echoing into the ether, sucks me right in. It’s permission to indulge in escapism: Life’s so fun! Life’s so fun! I definitely know how to rollerblade! I can definitely pull off a mini-skirt! I’ll stop hiding in fantasy later. I’ll feel ashamed of my own desire later. For three minutes and twenty six seconds, I am a soft goddess with skin like silk chiffon.
[8]