Matt Maltese @ Galvanizers review: Taught Glasgow What It Means to Yearn ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Kristina Wikensten

4 weeks ago

Last Wednesday, Matt Maltese performed at SWG3’s Galvanizers Yard in Glasgow, enthralling the hopeless romantics in the audience with songs from his latest album Her’s.

Amidst everyone’s suspense, Matt broke the silence on piano with “Always Some MF”. It was only a matter of time before the audience realised what a treat they were in for.

The soft rock songs with jazzy undertones mesmerised the audience throughout the night. Matt’s charming awkwardness between his songs tied into the raw and ardent lyricism of his latest album, Her’s.

Matt Maltese playing the piano, singing and staring into the audience. Image Credit: Kristina Wikensten

The rhythm surged with “Buses Replace Trains” while also adding several songs from previous albums into his set. The instrumentation in his music is already gorgeous, but you don’t realise its potential until you get to hear it live. The atmosphere calmed again with his oldie, “When you wash your hair” – a stripped-down, intimate song from his 2020 album, Krystal.

That scenic moment, which feels like a movie, came when Matt played his song “As the World Caves In.” The apocalyptic song saw virality during lockdown, 2 years after its release. Matt Maltese’s endearingly dry sense of humour shows with it being about a tragic love story between Prime Minister Theresa May and President Donald Trump, after initiating a nuclear catastrophe.

Duet with Katie

Into the second half of the concert, Matt surprised the audience with bringing out one of his opening acts, Katie Gregson-MacLeod. Katie has been signed with Matt’s record label, Last Recordings on Earth, since 2024. Singing an unreleased song of Katie’s which Matt had helped work on, they delighted with a gorgeous duet.

Katie Gregson-Macleod and Matt Maltese singing together. *Image Credit: Kristina Wikensten*

A Birthday Surprise…?

But that wasn’t all the surprises he had to offer. Matt prefaced by saying he was going to do something silly, leaving everyone on edge.

He told us that he is attempting to replace the most popular “Happy Birthday” song with his own song with the same title. So, calling out to the audience, he asked if it was anyone’s birthday. A lucky girl was pulled up to the stage to be serenaded “on her special day”, as Matt sings.

She smilingly sat on a stool while Matt and the audience sang, and towards the end a band member came out with a cupcake with a candle on it. It might have been a bit awkward, but it was incredibly sweet as well, just as Matt Maltese’s music.