When Malcolm Todd graduated high school in 2022, he told his parents he would be taking a gap year to pursue music. They, unsurprisingly, were less than thrilled by the proclamation, but gave him a year to see if it could work. They learned what the rest of the music industry quickly realized: never bet against Malcolm Todd. “Every single day since I told my mom I wanted to do this, I have actively worked to grow my fanbase, to get better at music, to build this world,” he explains. By the time he shared Sweet Boy in 2024, his day job at Cold Stone was in the rearview. Tracks like “Roommates” were racking up millions of streams daily. Fast forward a year, and Todd is more motivated than ever on his self-titled album, a declaration that he isn’t a hype machine or a flash in the pan, but a generation-defining voice.
That ambition is immediate on “Bleed,” the first single from Malcolm Todd. It features Omar Apollo, who serves as the lone guest on the album. Buoyed by a bouncy bassline, crisp drums, and an intoxicating synth melody, Malcolm and his frequent collaborators Jonah Cochran and Charlie Ziman, tried to make something as poppy as they possibly could. With most of the album already locked when they began messing around with “Bleed,” the trio pushed the envelope of what they were comfortable recording to tape, focused on crafting something sugary sweet but with the depth and subtlety that informs the rest of the album. “We had nothing to lose because we had so much of the album done,” Todd explains. It ended up being one of his favorite songs on the project. This idea of having nothing to lose defines Malcolm Todd.
As a restless, endlessly curious songwriter, Malcolm viewed his second album—and growing notoriety—as an opportunity to push himself, to bring his boldest ideas to the forefront. “I definitely wanted to challenge myself. When you're making your first project and you're just working at an ice cream shop and you have nothing to lose, it’s so pure. It's not as easy the second time around,” Todd explains. It was a tightrope walk that took some time to master, but once able to scurry across without falling, he started writing his best songs to date.
“You want to be better than you were the last time,” Todd states matter of factly. “You have people who are investing money in you. You want to make them proud. I want to make my family proud. You have fans that want certain sounds and you want to do that. You want to make them happy, too.” Malcolm had to figure out where his own interests fit in this increasingly complex puzzle. “With this album, I learned to find a space where I'm completely me, writing music without any fear, knowing that there are no bad consequences for doing exactly what I want.”
WIth Malcolm Todd, the Los Angeles-born songwriter has accomplished something rare: He’s created something deeply aligned with the sound his core audience fell in love with, while relentlessly pushing the boundaries on what his music can be. He’s done all this while making a project that is a front-to-back blast, a listen that is funny, anxious, proud, and unsettled all at once. In short, it’s the platonic Malcolm Todd record. “I just love making music so much,” he gushes, before adding: “I just want my fans to feel the care in it. That’s all that matters.”
