CMAT – ‘Crazymad, For Me’ review: Dublin’s answer to Dolly Parton

11 October, 2023

CMAT

It’s a daunting task to follow up an exceptionally original debut, and yet Dublin’s answer to Dolly Parton – the endlessly charismatic CMAT – seems to have done it with no bother at all. ‘If My Wife New I’d Be Dead’ laid the foundations for her refreshing talent for writing catchy pop songs with a unique country twist, but ‘Crazymad, For Me’ evolves that sound with determination and precision. A concept album about heartbreak and time travel, it’s both earnestly raw and playfully absurd, establishing CMAT – moniker of Ciara Mary Alice Thompson – as one of the most bracing pop acts of the 2020s.

We open with our protagonist, future CMAT, age 47, leaving for the desert to combat her devastation following a significant break-up (‘California’). The lyrics teeter with anger, but the luscious sonics – crafted from a simplistic R&B beat and a passive, Western-inspired riff – shield the listener from its full scope. As on the later track ‘Where Are Your Kids Tonight’, in which her vocals effortlessly entwine with her duet partner’s John Grant’s, her vocal performance is evocative of Paloma Faith or Duffy; pure powerhouse, with the ability to divulge an entire story through something as simple as a key change.

Teetering between desperation (‘Rent’) and denial (‘Can’t Make Up My Mind’), she is deeply authentic. The album’s production is often over the top and melodramatic – as are the emotions of your first heartbreak – yet her willingness to laugh at her own melodrama makes the record refreshingly earnest and self-aware, rather than self-pitying. Impressive string sections and devastating vocals are often cut with hilarious pop culture references: “You told me you loved me… but not like it happened in Sex and the City” (‘Such a Miranda’), or “Spend sixteen hours watching Gilmore Girls quite comfortably / I was crazy back then!” (‘Vincent Kompany’). Tracks like ‘Rent’ and ‘I…Hate Who I Am When I’m Horny’ combine her staple wit with her unconventional aptitude for songwriting, proving her to be a true original in the current musical landscape.

It’s an emotional whirlwind throughout, but the closing act is satisfyingly cathartic. ‘Stay for Something’ is a track made for sticking your head through the sunroof during a late-night city drive, while ‘Have Fun!’ is straight to the point: an infectious pop masterpiece that reflects upon the earlier heartbreak as if to say, ‘Bloody Hell – can you believe we felt all that?!’

CMAT will have you in stitches one second and emotionally suckerpunched the next. It’s brilliant. Inventive, intoxicating, deliciously camp – she continues to transcend all expectations and remains absolutely unmatched.