Malcolm Todd is a rising artist gaining rapid momentum, with his music appearing across social media and various charts. His self-titled album reached number 49 on the Billboard 200, while his popular single “Chest Pain (I Love)” peaked at 68.
Todd’s albums blend indie pop and R&B, causing his listeners to compare him to Steve Lacy.
The album “Sweet Boy” explores themes of heartache and the longing for a past love. It captures the struggle of trying to escape lingering emotions after a separation, realizing that the person you miss isn’t coming back.
“Her love is in your head.” That is what starts his whole album. This is the opening line to suggest to those listening that the connections had become psychological, or in other words, one-sided. He then follows up with “You lost your earrings in her bed,” sharing a literal intimate detail, but it also shares how he left a piece of himself behind and is too scared to ask for it back, not just his earrings, but the love and attention they once had. Malcolm shares how he will “Save it for another day,” representing the avoidance and procrastination of having a difficult conversation. This later leaves everything drifting and just rotting in silence. The best part, I would say, is his repetitive line “extra, extra, read all about it, Malcolm’s in his feelings and he can’t get out of it.” This line is a historical phrase which was used by newsboys to sell editions of newspapers. Malcolm is showing how he is turning his pain and sorrow into a public “headline,” mocking himself in his inability to just speak to the one who matters.
His single Rodrick Rules is about self-assurance, personal growth, moving on, and realizations. “I lost you, but maybe I won,” is the bittersweet acknowledgment of a long and challenging relationship. The shift from mourning and longing to freedom, sharing that idea of losing a draining connection can be someone’s personal victory, even if they lost it. “Oh, and by the way, I’m rich now. I work so much, I cannot sit down.” This is a blunt declaration of his status since they left. It’s the realization of success that hits once you start caring and doing good for yourself. This shares his grind behind success and shows that his hustle doesn’t stop, and how they were the ones holding him back. Malcolm shares his “I won” idea throughout his single and how he is growing rather than staying in that same mindset of missing who he knows isn’t coming back.
He also has the single titled Soar Throat. It shares the idea of speaking so much about missing them. It has caused a strain in his throat and nothing but an ache in his heart and throat. The song conveys the sense of nothing and acceptance of the end of something, in this case, their relationship. He realized it’s time to move on and let go, even if it may seem difficult. His repetition of “This is not for saving” and “goodbye” reinforces that idea, especially toward the end of his album, that there is no saving for this relationship and instead it is time to say goodbye. It touches on the idea of self-growth. He begins to reflect on his own behavior and how maybe he was not the right person for their partner. He grows into maturity in the way he expresses his feelings and his big decision to move on and part ways. There is the sense that maybe they were too young to be holding on to those feelings when they themselves were learning to grow. It comes with that bittersweet feeling that comes with the end of a relationship, the missing, and the need to move on.
