CMAT

About

" The witty emo-child of Nashville and Shania Twain "

CMAT – the eponymous stage name of Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – flew into the public eye in her hometown of Dublin when she launched third single ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’. The release is an effortless piece of mildly country-tinged pop that shone a light on a charismatic and comic approach to songwriting, and an artist with an effortlessly high level of charisma.

The clamor for more started shortly afterwards, and by the time debut album ‘If My Wife New I’d Be Dead’ (dubious grammar all her own) appeared, CMAT had gathered some serious momentum, headlining some of the biggest venues in the city. Described by local music bible Hot Press as “undoubtedly one of the most thrilling Irish pop debuts of the century,” the album was just another sign CMAT was quickly establishing a brand: comically laid back pop, cuttingly sharp stage presence, and a penchant for covering her releases in colourful cartoons as artwork.

Beneath the comic facade, CMAT’s music is riddled with a kind of relatable melancholy and a blend of cultural references. There’s self examination (“I just spend seven hours looking at old pics of me, Tryna pinpoint where the bitch began” – ‘I Don’t Really Care For You’), social commentary (“I’m never gonna own a house or impress my family” – ‘Communion’), and nods of regretful affection towards the Irish capital’s nightlife (“Every bottle is a boyfriend that didn’t work out, Every dance off is a feeling I could do without” – ‘Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)’).

The overall effect is like a snapshot of the malaise of modern day young life in Dublin – fun meets the emergence of modern day freedoms, meets a feeling that life’s finer things will always remain the property of others. This sense of cultural belonging is, perhaps, why CMAT connected so swiftly and so easily. For all her Nashville tendencies – and there is a definite air of country-light to her sound, almost like a toned down Shania Twain with a cool-Eire undertone – CMAT is pure Dublin.

When she took home the Choice Music Prize for the best album of 2022 in March of 2023, it was widely considered the least surprising outcome the award has ever served up. Her own concern, though, was perhaps a reflection of where CMAT’s priorities lie. Having been unable to collect the award in person, as she was on tour, she asked her Twitter followers if her hero Sinead O’Connor had still been in the building for the announcement (O’Connor had received another award earlier in the night). She needn’t have worried: if O’Connor doesn’t know who CMAT is yet, she won’t be able to miss such a cultural tour de force for too much longer.