In an age where pop music is often seen as superficial, CMAT’s latest album and its title track Euro-Country – one of the most interesting and creatively executed protest records in recent years- stands out as a powerful reminder of how songs can be sharp, subversive, and deeply political.
It’s important to notice that in today’s music world, where going viral often matters more than having something real to say, it’s rare to see an artist take big risks- both in sound or message- and still be praised for it. But Euro-Country has done exactly that.: with an 88/100 on Metacritic, five-star reviews, and praise from critics everywhere, the album clearly struck a chord not just in Ireland, but around the world.
Critically, the album has received something close to universal acclaim. The Guardian called CMAT a “total one-off”, while Pitchfork described it as a “lonely album with a whopping heart.” But more than just strong reviews, Euro-Country matters because of what it represents, not only in music, but also in how it talks about politics and society.
How is her music country?
Let’s be clear about something: country music made in Europe isn’t a contradiction. Country music is usually linked to American voices and small-town life, but Europe has liked this style for a long time too. Since the 1960s, bands like Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention have mixed folk and country sounds, and emerging artists keep doing it today.
What CMAT, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, does so brilliantly is fuse Ireland’s traditional musical with Americana aesthetics, all while strongly criticizing the modern Irish identity and the country’s social and political situation.
A powerful way to resist
The title track, “Euro-Country“, is not just a catchy song. It’s a complex, emotionally rich narrative that captures the disillusionment of growing up in a country that suffers from economic instability and cultural identity crises. “I was 12 when the das – das is how dad is called in Ireland – started killing themselves all around me” she refers to the wave of suicides that swept through Irish communities during Ireland’s post-recession years.
Following the 2008 financial crash, Ireland fell into one of the deepest economic crises in its modern history. Unemployment increased intensely, mortgages collapsed, and thousands of families lost their homes almost overnight. As the construction industry and small local businesses shut down, entire communities, especially in rural counties and small towns, were left devastated. During this time, suicide rates rose sharply, particularly among men. Between 2008 and 2012, the male suicide rate was nearly 60 percent higher than expected, with hundreds of additional deaths directly linked to the recession.
Many of those who died were working-class fathers, the “das” CMAT refers to, men who had lost not only their jobs and homes but also their sense of identity and worth. Their suicides became a haunting emblem of the hidden human cost of Ireland’s economic collapse.
In Euro-Country, CMAT transforms that collective wound and grief into art, weaving personal pain and national trauma into a biting portrait of a generation still trying to love a country that broke its promises. The song blurs the line between the personal and the political, between love for her country and rage at what it turned her into.
But what elevates Euro-Country from personal reflection to political statement is not just the lyrics, but the controversy created. When BBC Radio 1 first aired the single in July 2025, they cut the song’s 40-second Irish-language introduction. CMAT later stated she wasn’t informed of the edit, and while the BBC denied censorship, claiming they played a “radio edit” provided by the label, the incident reignited discussions around the erasure of minority languages in mainstream media, especially when they come from colonized or marginalized cultures.
This reaction was amplified by a deep rooted and painful history between England and Ireland, particularly regarding the suppression of the Irish language. For centuries under British rule, Irish or Gaeilge was systematically oppressed, being removed from schools, banned in public institutions, and stigmatized.
By the 19th century, English had become the dominant language across most of Ireland, not by a natural process, but as a direct result of colonial policy. The 1831 introduction of the National School system in Ireland made English the mandatory language of instruction, increasing the decline of Irish as a living language.
This cultural suppression wasn’t incidental. It was part of a strategy to assimilate Irish identity and eliminate resistance. Speaking Irish became associated with poverty, backwardness, and rebellion.
The impact of this linguistic erasure is still felt today, as Irish remains endangered despite state-supported revival efforts. In this light, the removal of an Irish-language section by a major UK broadcaster has to be connected to historical context.
The act of removing a part of a song sung in Irish, a language deeply tied to national history, resistance, and identity, might seem small. But it’s political.
It sends a message, intentionally or not, about whose voices and languages are acceptable and commercialized in the mainstream. And that’s exactly what CMAT’s album expresses: the pressure to copy American culture leads to a slow death of national identity, and the emptiness that comes from chasing a dream that was never really yours.
Layers of criticism and complaints
The sound of Euro-Country is, at first listen, playful. But behind the nice-sounding voice and high-pitched singing, there is a tension that shows the chaos CMAT is singing about. In this track, the mix of sounds shows the confusion of growing up with both American dreams and Irish life. It’s not just country music, it’s country music seen in a strange way, changed by the past, by memories, and by the media.
What makes Euro-Country more than just a politically charged album is how brilliantly innovative it is from a sound perspective. CMAT doesn’t merely use music as a vehicle for protest, she actually reinvents the genre itself to reflect the contradictions and emotional weight of her themes. The result is an album that is both deeply Irish and remarkably international, both nostalgic and at the same time contemporary.
Humor, honesty and feelings
CMAT uses humor and drama in a big and bold way, but she also stays real and honest. Her songs hit hard because the feelings behind them are clear. She’s not hiding behind cool looks or fancy sounds.
When she jokes about Ireland’s obsession with America, or sings about how her dad’s generation struggled with money and sadness, it doesn’t feel fake. It feels personal just like someone asking for help, but doing it with a wink and a fun melody.
Songs like Rent and Have Fun! keep talking about the big ideas in the album: money problems, feeling lost, and trying to figure out who you are in a world that cares more about looks than real people. But CMAT doesn’t make it too serious or depressing. She mixes fun and sadness, jokes and truth, dance beats and deep feelings, sometimes all in one chorus.
Why Euro-Country is different?
Writing music like this that mixes styles and moods isn’t easy. It takes both skill and heart, and CMAT shows up with both. Her songs don’t follow the usual pop rules. They’re messy, real, and full of meaning. That’s what makes Euro-Country not just creative and innovative, but important.
At its core, CMAT’s work challenges the music industry, traditional ideas of identity, capitalism, nostalgia, and even herself. It speaks honestly about the struggles of a generation caught between different cultures, expectations, and realities. This is country music, but not the kind you’re used to. And that’s the whole point.
If you haven’t listened yet, take some time, especially for titular track. Even if you don’t understand the Irish-language intro, maybe that’s the point. Maybe it’s meant to make you pause, reflect, and realize how much can be lost when we stop paying attention.
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The article above was edited by Marina di Bernardo Babichak.
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