EURO-COUNTRY (BLACK VINYL)

It's almost inconceivable that it's only five years since the arrival of CMAT, as she approaches the release of her third album, EURO-COUNTRY. This fully-formed acronymic star feels like she's been part of the culture forever - and what has endeared fans to her heart-sore tunes and humour is CMAT's ability to combine contradictory themes and moods: wide-eye drama with self-deprecation. EURO-COUNTRY is no different: an aural tight-rope walk that balances big themes. There's a sense of determination, of urgency, of gather round and listen up'. From re-evaluating where you come from and the impact of economics on a small country, to the attention that comes with increased fame and being a woman in the music industry. This is country music in an augmented, reimagined way. Fused with affirmative soul-pop and classic indie, climbing vocal scales and emotions in equal measure, it resists the music industry's desire to pigeonhole artists as one genre.