CMAT Unveils Debut Album, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead 

CMAT has released her widely anticipated debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead via AWAL Recordings. It was announced back in late 2021, and is finally available for the world to enjoy.

The becoming of CMAT started with a private songwriting masterclass hosted by Charli XCX, who played unreleased music to each student that was present. CMAT charmed Charli enough to hear her story, and asked her to really surprise him with what she had in store. She went on to knock Manchester on the head and returned to Dublin. After that, 2019 was spent on YouTube, where she set herself the challenge of writing a song a week for six months, posting new songs each Friday from a rented yoga studio. She has obviously grown exponentially since then, as this March marks her first U.S. tour ever.

“Nashville” focuses on the darkest moments of depression. The lyrics put up a front, CMAT sings of how excited she is to be moving to Nashville, when it reality she made up the city to distract from the day of her scheduled suicide. The track also holds the thoughts that occur when in a depressive state for a while, and the complete control it can take over someone’s mind.

“I Don’t Really Care for You” took a year and a half to find an idea for, then finally found direction when CMAT went through a break up in March 2020. This relationship in particular was never a good one, and this can be seen clearly through the message the track holds, with lines like “I hate that your friends hate me now, I hate me on my own.”

“Peter Bogdanovich” is inspired by the podcast You Must Remember This, and CMAT accounts on how she related to the podcasts characters, specifically on how she’s been the person that’s been cheated on in a grotesque and public way. She also admits her own faults, and takes time to come to terms that the perfect person has and never will exist.

“No More Virgos” talk about her relationship struggles with Virgos. CMAT expresses her disdain for the astrology type, specifically in the lines “I know you like me and I like your taste, I’ve had nine lives, I’m on my eighth…” meaning she mentally cannot handle another relationship, but the sign’s irresistibility is taking over her.

“Lonely” is another track that focuses on the past, and recognizes all the moments that someone feels helplessly lonely. In this documented period of her life, CMAT saw no reason to take care of herself, and let her mental and physical health be completely unattended to.

“Groundhog Day” shows CMAT’s true drive as a musician, telling on how she doesn’t take time to slow down, and enjoys the rush in being constantly busy. There’s no point in putting time into the self or into anyone else, to CMAT, the thing that needs her all is the music she produces.

“Communion” tells of the experiences of growing up in the Catholic faith, and how it’s difficult to continually fit into the person that the church wants you to be. The track has a faster tempo, with the drums expertly carrying the vocals in a more swift manner.

“Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)” is CMAT’s proclaimed mission statement. It focuses on how she loves to drink and cause a ruckus. She loves to be bold, and knows that no one is better than her just because they think of her differently. The track just received a new music video, which can be viewed here.

“2 Wrecked 2 Care” is about not being able to fall asleep, and stress-related insomnia. CMAT thinks she developed it during years of low-paying, irregular shift work, and the song talks on how her brain basically fell in on itself when a good night’s sleep began to become a rarity.

“Geography Teacher” shows CMAT’s experience with banjo, and tells of the realized disappointment on how life never goes exactly to plan. She describes this in quite the comical manner, saying “I feel so rock ‘n’ roll, but I look like a secondary geography teacher, and carry myself like a delicatessen ham.”

“I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby!” recollects the times of when CMAT recently broke up with a boyfriend, and was unable to go to pubs anymore out of fear of harassment. This song was the first to be written after two years of dormancy, and is the reason that CMAT started writing songs again.

“I’d Want U” is a homage to CMAT’s 17 year old self, as it was written when she was that age. It’s about a love-at-first-sight moment CMAT had with a girl at a house party, and she is quoted to say as such: “I needed to close this album with the most country song I have.”

If My Wife Knew I’d Be Dead is a love letter to CMAT herself and all things country, and can be viewed in full here: