Alternative artist Sarah Durbin has taken Catholic guilt, plugged it into an amp, and cranked it to eleven with her gloriously unholy new single, “Sister Mary Catherine.” It’s less a song and more a punk-rock exorcism—complete with eye rolls, power chords, and the faint scent of burning incense. In Durbin’s deliciously twisted universe, Sister Mary Catherine was such a dreadful nun that even Hell couldn’t ignore her résumé. Now she’s running the place—and Satan’s out of a job.
“I hope her ghost hears it and hates it,” Durbin declares, which might just be the most punk-rock prayer ever uttered. The track itself is a riotous cocktail of snarling guitars, pounding drums, and choir-like harmonies that sound like a Sunday service gone off the rails. It’s a middle finger to shame, dogma, and every nun who ever confiscated a mixtape.
The music video is equally divine and deranged, channeling The Nun for the spook factor, Scream for the camp, and The Craft for that moody, eyeliner-heavy rebellion. Picture Satan in therapy while a resurrected Sister Mary Catherine reorganizes the underworld’s filing system.
When Durbin belts out, “Has anybody checked on Satan? I think he might be unemployed / Since Sister Mary Catherine died,” it’s less a lyric and more a punchline from purgatory. Holy water couldn’t cool this one down—Durbin’s set confession on fire and made it sound amazing.
Review by Thomas Imposter