CMAT announces 3rd album ‘EURO-COUNTRY’
The Irish star returns with new single ‘Running/Planning’ and an extensive UK and Ireland tour.
Photo: Sarah Doyle
CMAT’s (AKA 3MAT) upcoming album EURO-COUNTRY will be released this August.
We have not only been graced by the re-emergence of Irish queen Ciara Mary Alice Thompson, otherwise known as CMAT, with her new single Running/Planning, but she has treated us to a trinity of music-related news: new album, new single and an upcoming tour. Fans of CMAT are in for a treat, those that appreciate her ability to mix humour with heart-rending lyrics, combining contradictory topics and moods with a fusion of country and pop will find EURO-COUNTRY is no different.
EURO-COUNTRY, recorded in Brooklyn, New York, between September to December of 2024 with dear friend and collaborator Oli Deakin, discusses big themes: the impact of economics on a small country — Ireland — and the attention that comes with increased fame and being a woman. This will be CMAT’s third record in the space of less than four years, an impressive but tough accomplishment when thinking about the possible turmoil one can reach when creating and writing such personal experiences.
Her last album Crazymad, For Me — released in 2023 — propelled her to wider attention and garnered numerous accolades, including BRITs Best International Artist nod and ‘Best Album’ nominations from the Ivory, Mercury Prize and the Choice Music Prize in her native Ireland (an award she won for her debut If My Wife New I’d Be Dead).
In her Substack Sinceremat #20, Ciara writes: “I seriously considered a long break after Crazymad, For Me to see if I could get some semblance of personal life back and maybe, I don’t know, somewhere to live” – and when last year – “someone I loved past away, and very soon after that someone else I loved was in an accident that can be classed as a near-death experience – the profound sense of urgency I developed as a result made me re-evaluate the entire shape of life” – resulting in the creation of EURO-COUNTRY.
EURO-COUNTRY will be a personal reflection on identity and grief, a genre of music that is the definition of CMAT as she confirms, “I’ve struggled to lock that down before, and I wanted to make it clear what it is that I do, musically speaking” – highlighting the main points on what this record will be dealing with – “EURO-COUNTRY is the type of loss, pain and lack of community that I feel we are suffering from under modern capital isolation”.
The first single from this era demonstrates CMAT’s desire to try and capture the suffering being felt by the collective. This song is about having to chase your own tail to be good enough to exist: “It’s an abstract view of societal pressure on women, specifically through a relationship lens… You start dating someone, you get engaged, you get married, you have kids… Everything has to follow this linear pattern… The minute you get outside of that, it gets incredibly stressful”.
Complemented with a brilliant music video, directed by Eilis Doherty, CMAT’s talented, quirky self is in full force with brilliant dance moves and a beautiful wardrobe (I need the whole polka dot outfit). CMAT and The Very Sexy CMAT Band deliver an alluring country-pop song full of violins to slowly build up the melody, with sexy backing vocals from CMAT. Not forgetting to mention the bridge — a moment CMAT never fails to deliver when creating any of her songs — capturing the essence of her frustration in the final repetitive chorus, changing how she sings it towards the very end to highlight the need to run from the linear pattern society pushes upon women.
After announcing a thirteen-date UK and Ireland tour starting in London at the O2 Academy Brixton and finishing in Dublin at the 3Arena, there is no other way to say it other than you need to see her and her ‘sexy’ band. They truly are one of the best live acts around, not to be missed this Winter.
EURO-COUNTRY is out August 29th via AWAL. Pre-order the album here.
