Through the twangy rock n’ roll and broken pop hooks that live in the heart of Chicago, Edie McKenna has had a hand in building the little congregations around town that make this music scene so special. Best known for her lead part in the band Modern Nun, who describe themselves as ‘queering their religious upbringing’, McKenna and co. have developed a type of spirituality brought out by acceptance and shared experience of music and community. Keeping to that theme, McKenna has shared her new track, “Hail Mary”, the last single off of her upcoming debut solo EP, For Edie. Written back in her teens, she revisits the trials and tribulations of growing up religious in a queer body, as she sings a prayer for who she was and who she’s become. 

The song rouses to life with a fervent folk groove as an acoustic strum feels invigorated by the underlying bass and auxiliary percussion that meander along with purpose. “And underneath those stain glass windows I prayed / You’d take it away from me”, McKenna sings with ease, leaving the weight of the matter to carry itself. As the chorus reaches the holy trinity of thrice repeated ‘Hail Mary’s’, the underbelly of the groove brews with harsh distortion, letting loose a blissfully cathartic, and joyfully nostalgic release of tension and self-actualization that longs to be listened to on repeat. 

Along with the song, McKenna shared in a statement; 

“Hail Mary’ was written as a prayer to my younger self. I wrote these songs many years ago and while I cannot recall the writing process itself I know that it still feels, to this day, very cathartic to sing this song. When I was growing up, I could not comprehend my queerness as an actuality, more as the sin that it would eventually be to live out. So, I only acknowledged it by pleading with God to take it away before it became a more serious problem. The ‘Hail Mary’ prayer itself was always my go-to, so I thought I’d rewrite it to aid in my own healing and acceptance.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2Hajp5VAGfw%3Fsi%3D3FWy76vtW6tIVdlK

“Hail Mary” is accompanied by a music video made with the help of Arden Lapin and Raine McKenna. McKenna’s debut EP, For Edie, is set to be released on August 23 via Devil Town Tapes, with a limited run of cassettes.

Written by Shea Roney | Album Artwork by Edie McKenna