With a cursory glance, it’s easy to diminish “Who” as just Another Synthpop Song, a generic redundancy crafted in MUNA’s comfort zone.
But there’s a honed poignancy to the track found even in the minutia despite its lyrical clichés (“I thought your heart was stone,” “You sounded clear as a crystal”). The vulnerability in Gavin’s quavering voice during the first chorus as the production leaves her to fend off her emotions alone, the trepidation in the echoing synth kick like the beat of a heart waiting to be broken all over again, the resignation in the bridge when she smiles through the pain and croons, “It was like a dream to hear/ Such a sweet melody/ But I/ Knew it was not for me” – it’s all sewn together to create a bittersweet tapestry of yearning.
At the same time though, “Who” isn’t your usual break-up song carbon-copied from the works of Adele or Sam Smith. Beyond the stereotypical emotions of resentment and melancholy, MUNA’s lyrics are able to encapsulate the complexities of love, the need to bleed ourselves dry before we can truly achieve peace in the painful process we call closure:
“Every note was a lump in my throat/ But I knew I had to hear it all.”
And perhaps that’s the purpose of the second lead single from the band’s sophomore album Saves the World: That if we’re “committed to saving [ourselves]” and “becoming [our] own heroes,” as they’ve said in their Spotify bio, we must hurt ourselves in turning the page so that we can find even more beauty in the next chapter.
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