"So do we need yet another ironic pop star playing a character and casting a sideways glance at relationships? Well, it turns out that, when they're as talented as Matt Maltese, we certainly do. Bad Contestant is an album that certainly invites comparisons - his voice alone is reminiscent of Richard Hawley, Jarvis Cocker and, maybe more problematically these days, Morrissey - but his songs are stamped with his own personality ... The biggest problem with ironic pop is that it can sometimes be too arch, and too knowing. Maltese gets around this by never letting a raised eyebrow overshadow his heart. Bad Contestant is full of strange little pop songs that can delight and subvert in equal measure and makes for a pretty startling debut, all in al".