Album Review: CMAT – EURO-COUNTRY
3 min read
CMAT has seen an astronomical rise over the last few years, and for good reason. The Irish singer-songwriter released her debut album in 2022 after being discovered online by her current manager, and has since been recognised by every major UK music institution and publication. Her second album, released just a year later, elevated her status as a rising star with popular tunes like Stay For Something and Where Are You Kids Tonight? with John Grant. After six months of teasing, her third release EURO-COUNTRY has arrived.
A atmospheric introduction with a name straight out of a 60’s psych record leads listeners into the title track, a slow-burning heartfelt anthem featuring an opening verse in Irish. It’s a bittersweet love-letter both to her upbringing and Ireland as a whole, with lines such as ‘and it was normal, building houses; that stay empty even now, yeah’ and ‘I was 12 when the da’s started killing themselves all around me’ that truly cut deep. It’s an example of CMAT’s social understanding and acceptance, and it carries across the whole album, whether she picking holes at herself, Ireland, or playing with phrases and words, such as in When A Good Man Cries. In this she refers to herself as the ‘Dunboyne Diana’, proclaiming herself as her hometown’s ‘people’s princess’, and referring to religion in the line ‘wear the beads, I’ll read Kyrie, Eleison’ which is Greek for ‘Lord, have mercy’.
CMAT’s humour shines through on songs like Tree Six Foive, referring to the days in the year but spelt phonetically to replicate the Irish pronunciation. The Dolly Parton-esc country tune is followed by the biggest hit from the record and a definite highlight Take A Sexy Picture Of Me. On the surface its a fun, beautifully arranged and mixed pop song with a gorgeous melody and catchy hook, but lyrically it’s a gut-punching and somewhat satirical takedown of beauty standards and unrealistic expectations of woman. It’s a song with a message that draws you in over and over again and it deserves its popularity. Following this, the deep cuts Ready, Iceberg, and Coronation St. all glow in different ways, with Lord, Let That Tesla Crash and initial single Running/Planning completing a stellar run. Closer Janis Joplining is an interestingly off-kilter conclusion, building slowly to a drawn-out natural fade that feels like the logical conclusion.
EURO-COUNTRY is a step forward for CMAT both artistically and sonically. While there are still contemporary arrangements nestled in the album, in songs such as Take A Sexy Picture Of Me and Ready, every track shows a sophistication in the lyricism and experimentation in the mixes that raise this project above what has come before. Self-confident, mature, and at time surreal, this is one not to be missed.
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
