The Irish music scene is packed with wall-to-wall talent at the moment which is fantastic for fans but it can make it difficult for artists to get their voices heard.
Along with fierce talent, you need something a little bit extra to stand out from the crowd.
County Meath singer-songwriter, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson aka CMAT, has found that just being herself is hitting the right note.
This year she is coming through with some incredibly relatable songs and the lyrics are striking a chord with people.
Her songs are funny and emotional while reminding people that they're not the only ones to have ever broken down in tears in a KFC over a relationship gone wrong.
It doesn't get more relatable than:
I cried in KFC again over you, and everyone was looking so I cried some more and doubled-down on chicken for some moral support.
Been there, girl.
Another highlight is:
Honey, I just wanna own a house, wear some Laura Ashley as I'm going out, and we could wear some Sketchers, drink some G&Ts, adopt four kids and get a college degree.
When it comes to writing, CMAT says that: "I do definitely like to represent my own conversational style in the way I write songs purely because it’s the most effective way of processing my emotions.
"I’ve also generally been most inspired by artists who write in that way, particularly people like John Grant, Father John Misty, and a lot of women from back in the day like Bobbi Gentry or Dory Previn."
CMAT says that in a world where we are all - herself included - guilty of spending lots of our time online where most things have been meticulously curated and filtered, she feels like people are drawn to the fact that "my life is really boring".
"I spend way too much time on social media and I guess my songs are the only thing I can post that are 100% honest without people being like ‘uhhh hey u doin ok?’"
CMAT, like many of us, is also guilty of spending too much time online doing something else - shopping.
If you have spent hours on end browsing through and ordering from AliExpress then Water Retention Liar is for you.
The chorus of "Cause I'm afraid of my possessions who I found through bad intentions, infuse with me, make me believe I've issues with water retention" rings a little too true.
While we do love singing along to bangers like Ariana's 7 Rings, isn't it quite nice to have someone singing about their AliExpress addiction?
CMAT says that she is at a point in both her career and her personal life where she finally feels as though she can talk about whatever she wants to whether it's relationships, AliExpress or her current obsession with Goop and Gwyneth Paltrow.
As she is creating a buzz around her music online it seems as though she's not the only one who wants to talk about these things.
If you want to keep up with CMAT's music and maybe keep an eye out for a Goop-related song, you can follow her YouTube here.
