Shameless is a word often thrown around pejoratively, but it’s that exact quality that makes CMAT an irresistible pop star. Her reckless vulnerability and willingness to turn things up to eleven (and even then keep twisting the dial until it falls off) are why her songs rip your heart out over and over again and then keep you coming back for more. CMAT is also there with a wink, a nudge, and a hilarious turn-of-phrase to punctuate these cathartic moments, preventing any over-sentimentality.
CMAT’s sophomore album Crazymad, For Me touches on everything from wanting to look like a Belgian football manager to Sex and the City, but the ultimate throughline here is her relentless pursuit of love. As she sings on the tightly formed pop finale, Have Fun, “I stick my neck right out for love.”
We get a sense of the album’s vastness and CMAT’s vision for herself (star on the rise, naturally) with the opener California, which invokes the perennial vision of heading west for a better future. Rent is emotionally devastating; she recalls the daily reminders of heartbreak with an attention to detail that breathes life into every crevice of the song (“I still can’t watch Spirited Away,” she laments). With a woozy, lonesome sonic backdrop, the John Grant duet, Where Are Your Kids Tonight leans into CMAT’s dramatic sensibilities in the best way possible.
Practically every song on Crazymad, For Me is made for belting out, whether alone with a Diet Coke (as CMAT would) or swaying along with your best mates.
Words: Clare Martin
CMAT – CRAZYMAD, FOR ME
[AWAL Recordings]
Release Date: October 13th 2023
