Matt Maltese - Hers

At this point, Matt Maltese is an undeniably safe pair of hands; having long since landed on that winning formula of classic songwriting sprinkled with self-deprecating humour, he would likely be hard pushed to write a bad album. And so, for sixth studio LP ‘Hers’, his conundrum was not one of execution, but evolution. Here, he does indeed examine music’s most ubiquitous theme - namely, the deeply personal yet universal anguish of matters of the heart - but elevates it such that even the most quotidian of details becomes filmic. Smooth woodwind flourishes transform opener ‘Art House Cinema’ from a sad ode to solo Prince Charles Cinema trips into a smooth lounge-pop number; and ‘Happy Birthday’ - ostensibly a jealous admission of missing your ex - is afforded an almost James Bond theme-esque slink, courtesy of its sweeping, high-drama arrangements.

Having self-confessedly “written a lot of music that comes from a place of infatuation”, this collection is instead written from a place of maturation, exploring the interplay between love and lust, romance and sex, with deft nuance. Matt’s signature lyrical wink is more subtle, perhaps, than on previous efforts - he overarchingly resists that classically English urge to caveat any hint of vulnerability with a joke - but his self-aware, self-effacing instincts are nevertheless still happily discernable. (“I should get a PhD in yearning all the time”, he contemplates on ‘Pined For You My Whole Life’).

In all, ‘Hers’ is testament to how much Matt has grown since his 2018 debut; yes, he’s still someone you’d bring home to meet your mum, but he’s now also grounding his art in more adult territory. In the hands of pretty much anyone else, this album’s racier lyrics (‘Anytime, Anyplace, Anyhow’’s “I’m apoplectic looking at the stars / They look like you with your top off”, say) would come across as seedy or (arguably worse) cringe. But Matt Maltese, somehow, could never be either of those things.