By: Nora Scarbro

Malcolm Todd is an artist you may have heard about a lot lately. With the popularization of his songs “Sweet Boy” and “Breath,” his boyish voice and themes of love grew his popularity fast. His self-titled album released in April 2025 exemplifies those qualities. 

Before listening to the newest album, I had already heard “Chest Pain (I Love).” It was popular on TikTok and a trend used the chorus. 

I am also a very big fan of Todd’s 2024 album “Sweet Boy.” My favorite off the album was “Rodrick Rules.” But I discovered that album mostly from my friends’ recommendations, as did others. “I learned about him from my good friend Lizzie,” senior Remy Conwell said. “She showed me the song ‘Cheer me On’.”

My love for his other music as well as my experience with a popular song inspired me to listen to his self-titled album, and it’s safe to say Todd did not disappoint. 

The start of the album was incredibly unique. It starts with a track titled “Harry Styles,” a commentary on those in the music industry feeling like they are not enough. Todd’s lyrics, “If I’m not a Harry Styles, they’ll put me on the shelf,” solidify this idea. It immediately opens the album with vulnerability.

Todd ends the song with a voice message saying he is boring. The addition of voice messages would be a constant motif in the album, something that I adored. 

That theme of vulnerability transforms from one of insecurity to one of unrequited love and yearning for connection. However, the really interesting part of this album is that Todd doesn’t just stay with one interpretation of these emotions. He explores many different experiences that would result in those feelings. 

In “Walk To Class,” a song about a long term relationship, it features lyrics like: “And when you don’t call me back I guess I just get a little bit sad. ‘Cause I know you’re walking to class, tell me where you’re gonna be when I’m gone. You’ve got more of my own heart than I got.” He curates a feeling of uncertainty through themes of distance, lack of contact, and insecurity. 

But in songs like “Make Me A Better Man,” he invokes the same feelings but from the perspective of unrequited love. Using lyrics such as, “Why does it take so long for you to hear the message in my new sad song?”

The lyrics are not the only things telling the stories Todd is sharing. The instrumentals speak just as clearly throughout the entire album. There is no definitive sound for this album. It features guitar and drums heavily but mixes them with orchestral instruments and techno like beats to illustrate each specific feeling Todd wishes to convey. 

One of my favorite uses of instrumentals is in the song “Blood.” The chorus, “You can take control, take control of how my heart bleeds” uses a heartbeat as a metaphor for how much power someone has over another’s emotions. To accompany this metaphor the actual beat of the song mimics a heart beat. The voices also mimic a heart by having the two voices almost ping pong back and forth. 

A song that highlights the techno beats meticulously clashing with orchestral instrumentals is “Good Job Malcolm.” It is a song that opens with a voice message of someone speaking and it leads into only instrumentals. Although no words are spoken, it feels as though the music itself is singing. 

In the song “Cheer Me On,” the instruments were actually singing. This song has the guitar mock the lyrics, giving the effect of a duet without the actual addition of an extra voice. 

The album is unique, complex, and layered. It pairs themes of loneliness and insecurity with an upbeat tempo to create a truly original album. The motif of voice messages throughout the work was a really interesting aspect that made the collection so much more personal. My personal favorites being“Make Me A Better Man” and “Blood.” 

After listening to this album, I rate it an 8/10 and highly recommend it. This album is a perfect place to start if you are someone who wants to get into Malcolm Todd .