Matt Maltese doesn’t miss a step, and we’ve been following the leader ever since the British songwriter-musician released ‘Vacant In The 21st Century’, right up until the recent track ‘Nightclub Love’, with an interview at The Great Escape 2017 in between. Now, the London-based artist is gearing up to drop his debut album, Bad Contestant, on June 8th. Providing a spectral scoop of what’s to come is ‘Misery’. It’s retro, guitar wooze psychedelia that drips with the decadence of ‘60s grooves. This track is a conscious move into a new sonic realm for Maltese, one that’s populated by the likes of Club Kuru, Tempesst and Thandii, although there’s easily room for this rich, baritone and deadpan observations. - Hannah Thacker