Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson—who performs under the moniker CMAT—has been active for a while now, having released her debut LP If My Wife New I’d Be Dead in 2022. But it’s her third album, EURO-COUNTRY, that has turned her into one of the year’s biggest pop stars. As its title suggests, CMAT draws inspiration from country music but makes it her own, with a soulful country-pop sound reminiscent of Shania Twain, while also honoring her Irish roots. EURO-COUNTRY is a deeply personal exploration of how CMAT’s cultural identity has shaped her life, incorporating the Irish language into her lyrics and getting candid about growing up in a country with such a complex history. She does so in a way that combines cheekiness (like crowning herself as the “Dunboyne Diana” in “When A Good Man Cries” and trash-talking a certain English celebrity chef in “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station”) with a discussion of serious matters, such as the misogyny women face in the entertainment industry and Ireland’s Celtic Tiger financial crisis.
There isn’t a lyric that’s struck us as much this year as “I was 12 when the das started killing themselves all around me” in the title track’s chorus, and it’s even a bigger feat that despite its brutally dark words, the song has become such a massive hit on TikTok. Through her bold lyrics and ultra-catchy sound, CMAT is helping expand conversations and shake up the world of pop music—which is exactly what we needed this year.
Last week, CMAT took to Webster Hall in New York to play songs from EURO-COUNTRY and beyond. Our good pal Emilio Herce was on the scene at capturing the action. Check out his gallery below.
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