21 year-old South London artist Matt Maltese has announced details of his debut album Bad Contestant – set for release on 1 June via Atlantic Records. A new track, ‘Like A Fish’, is available now to stream, or as an instant grat when pre-ordering the album from link here.
Bad Contestant’s announcement follows weeks of teasing and the stunning, semi-surreal video for the album’s lead single ‘Greatest Comedian’. The record, a culmination of 12 days spent in Foxygen instigator Jonathan Rado’s Los Angeles studio and many hours of sessions with Londoner Alex Burey, displays a no-less-than stunning leap forward in songwriting confidence from the already critically acclaimed young musician.
Credited with steering the lush sounding debut albums from Whitney and the Lemon Twigs, as well as Father John Misty’s forthcoming material, Jonathan Rado has helped drench the record with Californian atmospherics, drawing out Matt’s sweetly drifting vocals over a swell of jubilant guitars, brass and drums. Featuring reworked versions of fan favourites and previous singles ‘Strange Time’ and ‘As The World Caves In’ amongst nine beautiful new tracks, Bad Contestant is a grand coming-of-age album packed with Matt’s typically complex, witty melancholy and uplifting melodies.
Matt will play his biggest headline show to date at London’s Scala on 6 June, following a string of sold-out shows in the capital and further afield throughout 2017.
Tickets are available at www.matt-maltese.com. He will also tour throughout April supporting Isaac Gracie, starting in Manchester at Gorilla on 11 April, and culminating in a date at London’s Hackney Empire on 26 April.
Stream Matt Maltese’s ‘Like A Fish’:
The video for ‘Greatest Comedian’ premiered via Noisey in March. A strikingly warm affair with a vibrant colour palette reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, it was directed by Jak Payne, formerly of the Fat White Family, now renowned for his work with Insecure Men and Childhood.
Explaining the record’s sublime cover art, shot by celebrated photographer Scarlett Carlos Clarke – known for her feminist photography, grisly collaborations with Fat White Family and publishing cherished not-for-profit zine Hate – Matt says, “A few months back, I met Elizabeth and Greg in a pub and, due to some uninspired stroke of inspiration I had, I asked them if they’d be in some photos for ‘Greatest Comedian’ and my album. They were strangers before the photos were taken, but then in the shots there was this touching, strange sense of familiarity coming through. They sat in these gaudy, dated rooms, and looked like everything at once – longing, loss, romance. One of my favourite photographers, Scarlett Carlos Clarke, took the photos and to her I’m very thankful.”
British but born to Canadian parents, and a focal point of the vibrant South London scene which includes Shame, HMLTD and Goat Girl to name but a few, Matt’s acerbic, witty songwriting brought attention from The FADER, The Guardian, Interview Magazine, NME, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, and a score of other tastemaker titles both online and in print throughout 2017.
With today’s announcement and another gorgeously refined track available in ‘Like A Fish’, the tone is now perfectly set for an album so eagerly anticipated.
Matt Maltese – Bad Contestant – out 01/06/18 via Atlantic Records
See Matt Maltese at the following live dates:
11 April | Gorilla, Manchester*
12 April | Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds*
13 April | The Mash House, Edinburgh*
15 April | King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow*
16 April | The Crescent, York*
17 April | The Leadmill 2, Sheffield*
18 April | The Rescue Rooms, Nottingham*
20 April | O2 Institute 2, Birmingham*
21 April | O2 Academy 2, Oxford*
22 April | Arts Centre, Norwich*
23 April | Thekla, Bristol*
25 April | The Haunt, Brighton*
26 April | Hackney Empire, London*
5 May | Liverpool Sound City, Liverpool
6 June | Scala, London
21 July | Deer Shed Festival, Topcliffe
*with Isaac Gracie
