CMAT - Crazymad, For Me

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.