CMAT – Crazymad, For Me

There’s nothing understated or lowkey about ‘Crazymad, For Me’, the showstopping second album from Ireland’s country-pop sensation CMAT. With a maximalist sound and vocals that exceed the already sky-high expectations we had from her debut album, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson has once again knocked it out of the park. For anyone bored of the lo-fi musical landscape, ‘Crazymad, For Me’ is a thrilling reminder of just how ambitious and exciting pop music can be.

The first thing that greets you on the album is the rich, textured sound of opening tracks ‘California’ and ‘Phone Me’, each adorned with grandiose instrumentation and all kinds of musical flourishes, without feeling too over-the-top or over-produced. Even on more stripped-back moments like ‘Such A Miranda’ and ‘Can’t Make Up My Mind’, CMAT never ventures into minimalism. When she sings, her lyrics are relatable, without falling into the trap of feeling patronising or too on-the-nose. They’re also full of cultural references spanning from Belgian football manager Vincent Kompany to Gilmore Girls (the latter doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough in song lyrics, in my opinion). The resulting moments make these songs feel comfortable in their refusal to take themselves too seriously.

The finest piece of music on the album is ‘Where Are Your Kids Tonight’, a previous single and collaboration with John Grant. Following on from the softer, more acoustic-led moments of ‘Such A Miranda’ and ‘Rent’, ‘Where Are Your Kids Tonight’ bring us back into the swinging maximalist pop that dominated the beginning of the album. Bringing Grant onto the track was a stroke of genius; a genuinely good musical alliance as opposed to a collaboration for the sake of collaborating. The melody is both gripping and nostalgic, another track that was made for good headphones and blasting a full volume to get the full ‘80s pop-meets-country effect.

More gems appear on the latter half of the album, first with ‘I… Hate Who I Am When I’m Horny’; comparing anyone to Kate Bush is borderline blasphemous, but this track is Kate all over – except with more Britney Spears references. Here, CMAT hits the nail on the head on every count – lyrics, composition, production, and humour. We end ‘Crazymad, For Me’ with the bouncing, Self Esteem-esque ‘Have Fun!’ where she sings “I gave you all I had ’cause I believed in nests / Huh, silly bitch! woo! / You shoulda spent it on yourself” and laments her past decisions with some traditional strings.

Expectations for CMAT’s second album were sky-high, but she’s managed to reach new musical heights with ease and style. ‘Crazymad, For Me’ is another smash hit from a showstopper vocalist that really puts the fun back in pop music.

8/10

Words: Vicky Greer

Dig It? Dig Deeper: Self Esteem, Katy J Pearson, Alfie Templeman

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