Irish singer-songwriter CMAT has unveiled her hotly anticipated new album, EURO-COUNTRY (out today via AWAL Recordings), a project that is already earning widespread critical acclaim and cementing her reputation as one of the most distinctive voices of her generation.<\/p>\n
Blending sharp social commentary with her trademark wit and soaring melodies, EURO-COUNTRY balances big ideas\u2014like the pressures of fame, the impact of economics on small countries, and the search for identity\u2014with some of CMAT\u2019s most immediate, hook-filled songs to date. Among them is the shimmering summer anthem \u201cTake A Sexy Picture Of Me\u201d and her latest single, \u201cWhen A Good Man Cries,\u201d a country-pop-meets-indie-rock ballad praised by Stereogum as \u201can immediately gripping country-rock classic that recalls Stevie Nicks or Tom Petty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The single\u2019s music video has already sparked excitement online, with one YouTube user declaring: \u201cWhoever is doing the styling for this video deserves a VMA.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new record arrives on the back of a massive summer for CMAT, who stole the show with a \u201ccareer-making\u201d performance on Glastonbury\u2019s Pyramid Stage, went viral with her cheeky \u201cWoke Macarena\u201d TikTok trend, and scored charting singles across Ireland and the UK.<\/p>\n
Despite only being on her third album, the Dublin-born artist\u2014real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson\u2014already feels like an established cultural force. Her previous record, Crazymad, For Me (2023), earned her nominations at the Mercury Prize, the Ivors, and the BRITs, while her 2022 debut If My Wife New I\u2019d Be Dead won the Choice Music Prize in Ireland.<\/p>\n
Critics are hailing EURO-COUNTRY as CMAT\u2019s most accomplished work yet. Rolling Stone compared her to Pulp\u2019s Jarvis Cocker, praising her \u201csharp-eyed, honey-coated message for the world,\u201d while Vogue lauded her ability to capture the social pressures women face with both humor and heartbreak. Billboard described her lead single as having \u201ca lightning-in-a-bottle quality,\u201d while Mojo confidently declared, \u201cBy the end of the year CMAT ought to be the biggest pop star on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
CMAT herself describes EURO-COUNTRY as her most \u201ccountry\u201d record to date, though she insists it pushes beyond tradition:<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s slide guitar and fiddle playing, but we never wanted to make something we\u2019d already heard before. EURO-COUNTRY is also my way of describing the pain of losing community under capitalism. Nobody is hanging out anymore, nobody is living together, and that loneliness has become such a defining feature of modern life. This album is me trying to process all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alongside the album release, CMAT has confirmed her US TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday, September 9, marking a new chapter in her rapidly expanding international profile. She\u2019ll also embark on a string of sold-out US shows this September, including dates in Los Angeles (The Fonda Theatre, Sep 8), New York (Webster Hall, Sep 18), and Nashville (Basement East, Sep 21).<\/p>\n
With EURO-COUNTRY, CMAT continues her meteoric rise\u2014mixing humor, heartbreak, and cultural critique into a sound that is entirely her own. As one fan summed it up in a YouTube comment:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe maturity of this album is absolutely breathtaking. The songs are so developed, elegant and yet absolutely crackling with raw feeling. UGH CMAT YOU DID IT.\u201d <\/p>\n
TRACKLIST<\/strong> TOUR DATES<\/strong>
1. Billy Byrne From Ballybrack, The Leader Of The Pigeon Convoy
2. EURO-COUNTRY
3. When A Good Man Cries
4. The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station
5. Three Six Foive
6. Take A Sexy Picture Of Me
7. Ready
8. Iceberg
9. Coronation St.
10. Lord, Let That Tesla Crash
11. Running\/Planning
12. Janis Joplining<\/p>\n
Sep 8 Mon – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
Sep 10 Wed – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre
Sep 12 Fri – Minneapolis, MI – Fine Line
Sep 13 Sat – Chicago, IL – Park West
Sep 15 Mon – Toronto, CA – The Concert Hall
Sep 17 Wed – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
Sep 18 Thu – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Sep 20 Sat – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees
Sep 21 Sun – Nashville, TN – The Basement East <\/p>\n
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