A Euro will get you nowhere. Nor a pound, dollar, krona, anything for that matter. What it can get you is a sense of nostalgia when life was a little cheaper. Euro-Country is the hotly anticipated latest piece from CMAT, a performer whose rise is not just deserved, but a welcome change from what influenced her works. We are in safe hands as the next wave of alternative pop creatives comes through. Shuffle the iconography deck, the references we make as a way of expressing our feelings. We use those moments of pop culture and lesser-known stories, as was the case for Nashville, to explore our lives. It’s the case for Euro-Country. Hyper specifics and the microscopic commentaries found throughout CMAT’s third album are nothing short of exceptional. They are impressively personal and, crucially, can form that emotional connection. Part of that is because of an in-studio confidence, but a major reason at play here is the likeable energy, the upbeat style, which features so well throughout Euro-Country.
Her title track is nothing short of sublime. A blistering piece of work where a pride for country is challenged by the desolation others felt in the same streets. CMAT blurs the line of her countrified best with a push for those alternative pop charms, and it works a treat. She does not lose sight of that extra layer country fundamentals can offer. When a Good Man Cries an exceptional example of this acoustic sway, a classic message tinged with tragedy. It’s a familiar tone to listeners well-versed in CMAT, but different too, expanded on magnificently with some swaying percussion and a staggering vocal offering. One of the many great moments on Euro-Country, an album which manages to keep having fun as it dissects the fame, the fortune, and the fear of growing out of your hometown. Some grow out of that love quicker than others, but not all towns are obsessed with celebrating the life of Stan Laurel.
Celebration is key to Euro-Country. Not just the fundamentals of a place of origin, but the people who kindle their belief in us. Lord Let This Tesla Crash is a touching, personal song which highlights CMAT’s strength. Only the greats can make their grief and pleasure feel communal. Euro-Country offers that, along with some tremendously memorable songs. You cannot demand growth from yourself, but you can plant the seeds. Euro-Country is an incredibly strong project, rich with memories and regrets which are reckoned with well. CMAT adapts as well as anyone can to fame and the higher bar of quality expected, keeping alive that desire to be an entertaining storyteller with earnest experiences. There is truth coming out of her well. Her commentaries on isolation and those moments in life which feel stifling, The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station and Take a Sexy Picture of Me particularly, are brilliant.
Confident performance is no longer enough for acts. CMAT knows that and is leagues ahead of her peers with Euro-Country. Those country music tones are not as overt as they were on previous releases, but they still form the foundation of what is an incredibly strong album. Songs like Iceberg and Coronation St. grip the fundamentals of a life many are trying to shake themselves from. Running/Planning is a wonderful moment to contemplate your choices, be it a constant movement of betterment or the desire to live in lackadaisical glee. Just a beautiful album. Euro-Country is filled with the honesty listeners expect yet take for granted. CMAT revives that active participation from an audience with catchy pop hooks hiding gutting and extraordinarily open commentaries from one of contemporary music’s very best.
