ALBUMS OF THE WEEK

CMAT

If My Wife Knew I’d Be Dead

AWAL Recordings,

Out Now ★★★★★

Ciara-Mary Alice Thompson’s musical journey has taken her from teenage singer in indie duo Bad Sea, to an ultimately unsuccessful solo career in Manchester, to the country pop makeover where she has resurfaced as CMAT. Eye-catching videos for songs such as Another Day (KFC) which isn’t on her debut and I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby! which is, revealed a sassy new voice on the Irish scene. If she has taken anything from her heroine

Dolly Parton, it is her camp and fierce intelligence. Musically, the country influence is subtle. There is little in the way of slide guitars, honky tonk piano and not a fiddle in earshot. You would think more of Kacey Musgraves hearing tracks such as I Don’t Really Care For You and Every Bottle Is A Boyfriend, albeit with a lighter touch. It is, nevertheless, a sparkling debut from an artist for whom the sky is the limit.