Muna‘s Katie Gavin took a softer approach to Madonna’s pop classic “Like a Prayer” during a live recording at SiriusXM’s The Coffee House. In support of her debut album What a Relief, Gavin also performed three songs off of her latest LP: “Aftertaste,” “Today,” and “Inconsolable.”
Gavin’s cover of “Like a Prayer” traded Madonna’s high-energy pop sound for a more tender, indie-inspired approach. Strumming an acoustic guitar, with support from an electric guitarist, Gavin sweetly sang the 1989 single’s warm chorus, “When you call my name / It’s like a little prayer /
I’m down on my knees / I wanna take you there.”
The singer released her solo LP What a Relief on Oct. 25. The 12-track album includes the lovestruck single “Aftertaste” and “As Good as it Gets” featuring Mitski. Following its release, Gavin embarked on a North American tour with stops in Seattle, San Francisco, Nashville, New York, and Boston. The tour concludes in Chicago on Dec. 18. To Gavin, What a Relief takes an introspective look at herself and her relationship with love.
“It’s about having a really deep desire for connection, but also encountering all the obstacles that stood in my way to be able to achieve that, patterns of isolation or even boredom with the real work of love,” Gavin previously said in a statement. “What a Relief explores and portrays it honestly, without shame.”
Gavin joins the ranks of sapphic pop artists like Chappell Roan and Reneé Rapp, who have had a banner year. At the All Things Go music festival in September, Muna, made up of Gavin, Naomi McPherson, and Josette Maskin, covered Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” after Roan bowed out of the festival to prioritize her mental health. The band dedicated the acoustic rendition of the pop single to the “Pink Pony Club” singer.
“Obviously we know it was not us that you were expecting to see today, it was Chappell,” Gavin said onstage. “And we fucking love Chappell Roan… We would really love for you guys to sing with us and I don’t know, this is a group exercise in sending her a lot of love. She really deserves it.”
