MUNA are out for more at London headline show

<em>Photos: Corinne Cumming</em> When you get the chance to capture a band as they surge out of the blocks, there’s a real feeling in the air. It radiates through the queue into the venue, through the staff checking tickets and through the very actions of those on stage setting up. It’s a feeling that confirms a band’s standing in the world, not necessarily based on the amount of money rolling into the backpockets of labels, but rolling into the hearts and minds of thousands around the world. For MUNA, ‘Abount U’ isn’t just a debut album, but a statement of who they are and what they stand for. It’s an infectious mix of unparalleled pop in its prime and a record that’ll get played over and over in the bedrooms of thousands around the world. Tonight, in the middle of Shoreditch, that feeling became a reality, and boy, it’s something that everyone needs to jump on right now. There’s always an enviable task in opening such proceedings, and for Lo Moon that sense of occasion was one that they were determined to conquer. In their first ever UK show, they more than proved why their name will be rising into the ranks over the coming months. Bursting with cinematic panoramics of slow-building glides in full flight, it’s a defiant statement of intent from an act whose motion picture screens are longing for bigger stages. Current single ‘Loveless’ closes a set that fizzes and throbs with glacial hooks that stun at first listen, delivering mountain-top moments that’ll soon be invading music collections around the globe. The night is unquestionably MUNA’s, a band whose rise in the past few months have made them prime invitees at the table of certified bangers. Tonight is a communal gathering of joy - an eruptive confirmation of everything that seethes through debut LP ‘About U’ and more. Opening with ‘I Know A Place’ is a definitive nod that this trio are not hanging around for any passers by, infectious at every moment and receiving the sort of reaction that’s reserved for bands that change lives. That’s where MUNA live, and that’s what makes them so vital. From start to finish, lungs are pushed to their edges in singalong bliss - flowing through a record that stands for far more than some simple click-worthy tints. They’re a band that represent an entire generation, one where the gender neutral toilets displayed around the venue are an obvious tick, where tracks such as ‘End Of Desire’ and its Fleetwood Mac-style gallop are welcomed with open arms, and where ‘If U Love Me Now’ is greeted with the tear-streaming importance that radiates through its every tone. Every note is dripping with meaning, served under the glossy glory of pop blistering out of the gates. As they barter around chatting to those gathered and stealing each other’s jokes, it’s clear that MUNA are a gang that welcome everyone. Who’s to argue when ‘Winterbreak’ rings out with effortless ease or when ‘Around U’ engulfs everyone gathered in a blurry of electro-pop royalty - it’s just exactly who MUNA are, a welcoming shoulder for the world’s woes drenched in uplifting sheens that’d pep talk the shit out of anyone stuck in a field of worries. When a band can cover Evanescence’ ‘Bring To Me Life’ with such style and relevance, then you know that you’re on to a winner. As ‘Loudspeaker’ winds out a set of heartfelt memories, there’s a sense that all gathered are incredibly lucky to witness MUNA in such an intimate space. There’s never the sense that this is a glass-ceiling hit that captures a band in their prime, rather, it feels like a sensation playing a spell-binding set for an audience that’ll be replicated ten-fold in the months and years to come. This isn’t a band settling for a handful here and there, they want more - and with the slew of hitters flying from the stage as evidence, they’re destined for it. The best kept secret in pop’s coming out party is one we’ll be chatting about for years to come. And we blooming love that it’s only just getting started.