‘The dogs were getting mad’: How LA band Muna survived their worst gig ever

It explains why Muna’s music always feels so emotive. “If you’re not sweating after the first song, come,” McPherson says.

With an ever-growing fan base, they’ll be embarking on a massive tour this autumn, titled “Hot Tour” after the album’s opening track – although the band previously called it “Midwest Princess, Midnight Sun and the Good of Eras Tour”, before abandoning the idea due to copyright issues.

Ten years into their career, they’re playing to “more people than we could ever imagine,” seeing a genre labeled as “queer pop” expand into the mainstream, and have all found crossover success with artists like Chappelle Ron, Renee Rap, Lil Nas X and Troye Sivan.

“I feel like we’re on the cusp of redefining the word ‘queer,'” Maskin said.

“For us, it’s a really respectable word, because it’s inclusive, it includes everyone in the LGBTQI+ community.

“It originally came from academia, from queer theory,” McPherson says, adding that the group was initially divided on whether or not to be open about their sexuality.

“In 2010 and 2011, during the hipster Pitchfork era, we were reluctant to come out of the closet. We wanted to be secretive and closed off, and Katy encouraged us to not be and be ourselves. And we just became more ourselves.”

Even so, the label can be restrictive. Muna want their music to be universal.

“The subject matter we write about is essentially queer, and so are our life experiences,” McPherson says.

“What we’re fighting for is to get this accepted as a human experience – especially in this time of great oppression.”

If anyone can, Muna can. Don’t just let your pets play.