''About U'' is the debut studio album by American band Muna, released through

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on February 3, 2017. It is a dark-pop,

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

. and

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album influenced by 80's new wave.

Background

"Winterbreak", the lead single from ''About U'', was released on February 19, 2016. The track went on to peak at number 31 on the ''

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chart. "Loudspeaker" followed as the second single on April 8, 2016. The release of "Loudspeaker" was accompanied by an EP of the same name, which included the title track, as well "So Special", "Winterbreak" and "Promise", all of which ended up on ''About U''. They performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on November 4, 2016. "I Know a Place" was released as the third single from the album on December 2, 2016. The song peaked at number 39 on the

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Airplay chart. The band performed the song on ''

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'' on February 7, 2017 with new anti-

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lyrics. "Crying on the Bathroom Floor" was released as the album's fourth single on January 20, 2017. On March 9, 2018 the band released the EP ''About U: One Year On'' which featured acoustic versions of "Crying on the Bathroom Floor", "If U Love Me Now", and "I Know a Place".

Critical reception

''About U'' received critical acclaim upon release. Tim Sendra of ''

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'' called the album "a promising debut" "with a pleasingly direct lyrical approach, very assured vocals, and enough songs with sharp enough hooks ("Loudspeaker"), emotional punches ("Winterbreak"), or both ("End of Desire") to make it worth the effort to check the record out." DIY's El Hunt called ''About U'' "an album that captures the soaring highs and plunging lows f life all in one brilliantly executed swoop." Pip Williams, writing for ''

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'' praised the band for representing queer women in their songs, saying "its twelve tracks are an unflinching and unapologetic documentation of the LA trio's lives, and by extension the lives of so many queer women the world over. To hear our own lives reflected in music made by people like us is still devastatingly rare; and to hear a pop album openly mention queer sex in its opening track ("So Special") is even more so." ''About U'' placed at number 41 on ''

Background

Critical reception

Track listing

Charts

References