Label: AWAL
Released: 13th October 2023
It may have only been last year that CMAT’s storming debut ‘If My Wife New I’d Be Dead’ blessed our ears, but already she’s returned with what may well be her magnum opus. ‘Crazymad, For Me’ is nothing short of an exorcism of pent-up emotions, of anger and heartache that have slowly simmered at last unleashed. A retrospective concept album that dives deep into a pain that remains suffocating even as time passes, ‘Crazymad, For Me’ is an explosive return.
It’s entirely cinematic, theatrical and continuously melodramatic, but gloriously so. From the burning anguish of opener ‘California’, CMAT begins to delicately weave dark humour with country roots and indie-pop sensibilities that form the roots of a quickly unfolding story. Invited into this world of devastating pain and a path towards healing, the album’s twelve tracks are brought to life through sheer force of emotion. The beauty of the album lies in its refusal to dilute any of those feelings. It’s a lesson in abandoning repression and letting it all hang out – the dazzling highs as well as the tear-tracked lows.
‘Such A Miranda’ is engulfing in its choking, numbing sadness, and the chasmic ache of pain emerging in CMAT’s voice on ‘Rent’ is searing. On ‘Can’t Make Up My Mind’, she darkly croons and reflects – smooth vocals turning from quiet to mammoth as her anger struggles to be contained. It’s an act of convincing herself that worms itself into your world and refuses to leave.
From eye-rolling delivery to wickedly grinning through the pain, CMAT performs an ever-changing role that is near consumed by the weight of these potent feelings. ‘Whatever’s Inconvenient’ laments a tendency to make questionable romantic decisions with a scoff, whilst ‘I…Hate Who I Am When I’m Horny’ sees a shift of aim from an ex-lover to herself. No one is out of the firing range here – that anger and hurt spikes in all directions. From pulsating, danceable beats to glimmering guitar slides, the album balances a breeziness with floor-shaking dramatics, the earnestness at its core ripping everything to pieces.
By the time the album draws to a close, a light begins to stream through. ‘Stay For Something’ revels in nostalgia but feels like a coming up for air, a means of dining a way out. Amidst the dark crevices of the album’s excavation, there is a kind of closure and clarity found only by feeling your feelings to the absolute maximum. In allowing herself to do that, CMAT emerges victorious, leaving us all crazy mad, for her.
