There’s a particular brand of heartbreak that’s impossible to explain because, technically, nothing really happened. On “So Close,” Kim McClay captures that emotional gray area with precision.
“I had an experience where I was hung up on the same person for two years—someone I never even dated, per se, but spent a lot of time with,” says McClay. “Then things took a turn, and he began to date someone else in a serious way. I began to question what I did wrong. Why was I not the one he chose? I saw all of New York City change around me while I stood with my feet in the sand, hoping for my feelings to fade.”
Best known for playing Maggie in the 2018 national tour of A Chorus Line, McClay has spent the past several years balancing her growing presence in New York’s indie-music community with the stage work she’s been doing since college. Most recently, the St. Louis native portrayed astronaut Sally Ride in workshops for Discovery, a new musical centered around NASA’s rebuilding efforts following the Challenger disaster. She’s also developing a folk-rock adaptation of Little Women and is co-founder of First Drafts, a monthly writers’ room supporting emerging songwriters across genres.
“So Close” is among the highlights on Worth It, available June 26. She co-produced the self-released EP with collaborator Dustin Beardsley, an engineer and freelance trumpet player who’s performed with several Broadway tours. And despite the emotional paralysis that pervades her latest single, it also conveys a certain measure of gratitude.
“As painful as this experience was, I’m grateful to know what that felt like, because it was so close to what I’m seeking,” says McClay. “I also think music is therapy, and as I poured my leftover feelings into this melody and created something new, there’s a place for them to linger outside of my heart.”
We’re proud to premiere Kim McClay’s “So Close.”
—Hobart Rowland
