★★★★★
One year after the career-defining ‘EURO-COUNTRY ’, Irish singer-songwriter CMAT is celebrating the first anniversary of its release in remarkable style with a four-track, live EP featuring songs from her homecoming gig at St. Anne's Park, Dublin, back in May. During the gig, she performed to a massive crowd of 20,000, which she proudly states on the EP's cover with ‘20,000 CMAT FANS CAN'T BE WRONG’
The EP acts as a fantastic companion piece to what was already an incredible album by honouring and breathing more life into it and, of course, giving us some much-needed live music from the artist.
The choice for the diss-track ‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’ to be the opener was definitely the right one, as it shows exactly what CMAT is about; it’s iconic and expertly shows her ability to blend songwriting and storytelling, which adapts well in a live setting with her band, and instantly hooks us into the album.
‘When A Good Man Cries’ sounds especially fabulous live and is one of the best inclusions on this tracklist. When it comes to the mention of "Dunboyne Diana", it’s a great moment because you hear the crowd scream the lyric right back at her, and it instantly makes you feel like you're at the gig. The track is accompanied by some violins which, in this live setting, give the track more of a country sound than original had.
Finishing off the EP is title track ‘EURO-COUNTRY’ sounding monumental and grand. Just like the other tracks on the record you can hear the fans singing along to every single word, but it doesn’t feel overpowering. It has the perfect balance of a live record: being able to hear the artist and the band fluidly with an interactive crowd in the background. CMAT sounds astonishing and exactly like she does on the studio versions. Throughout, she proves why she is one of the best and most important artists of our generation.
One exclusion from this EP was ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’, which would made for an essential listen, however what we did get across the four tracks was certainly a treat.
Accompanying the release, the singer posted a full video of the gig on her YouTube channel, which is only available for a limited period. The YouTube version of the performance even has her remarkable cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’. Perhaps a full release of the entire performance is something that is in the pipeline for the future.
'EURO-COUNTRY (Live at St Anne's)' is available to purchase on a 10-inch vinyl from CMAT's site. You can pick up a blue version of the record too, while stocks last, an essential for any CMAT fan.
Jack Smith
Image: ‘EURO-COUNTRY (Live at St Annes)’ Official EP Cover