"Malcolm Todd - Malcolm Todd" Better Than What I Expected






    Sadly for Mr. Malcom Todd, this album comes in a time in my life where I feel like I'm currently listening to less pop than usual generally. Though Indie Pop and Indie were my third and fourth most listened to genre's this year, punk, rock and emo music have largely dominated my music tastes this year. That's not to say I don't enjoy or listen to pop music anymore, it's just that I've found myself being a bit pickier, being less lenient towards pop music that might have felt a bit derivative, but were still catchy enough to justify my attention. The reason I say all of this is because frankly prior to this album any Malcolm Todd song I listened to sounded just fine, and that's it. Not to say I don't know people who listen to him, my brother enjoys his music and so does my friend Bleed. Still, even with relatively good ratings on sites like RYM and AOTY I was skeptical. Though I will still try, so without further ado, my track-by-track review.

Malcolm Todd - Malcolm Todd

Harry Styles - N/A I'm not saying people are not allowed to be insecure but I'm also saying someone who has 11 million monthly Spotify listeners complaining about how they'll be forgotten if they're not Harry Styles and how they don't get nice enough festival slots is pretty rich. Most bands I listen to I would consider successful and you pretty much have to be a legacy act from the pop-punk/emo scene to even reach monthly listener counts in the multi-millions.

Make Me a Better Man - 55/100 The piano is an interesting touch to the verses but sonically, lyrically and just in terms of having a catchy chorus this song is just missing any oomf to make it really stand out to me. Like it's kind of sparkly in the chorus but I just don't care about it enough.

Who's the Fool - 45/100 Imagine doing a whole big buildup for a transition only for it to be this song. 

Chest Pain (I Love) - 80/100 Obligatory joke about how I like popular things or how songs are popular for a reason. I do think this song has earned it's popularity though and it fits quite well with the sound I think Todd has been trying to dip his toes in so far in this record (even if it feels like he's afraid to dip in anything more than the toes).

Doll - 70/100 A little short and underdeveloped in my mind. In that sense it's reminiscent of a Dominic Fike song in that way, and surprisingly I don't mean that derogatorily. A decent little tune. 

Bleed (feat. Omar Apollo) - 65/100 This song basically gives me the same read as Make Me a Better Man but I just think it's better. Not enough to entice me for multiple relistens but solid.

Good Job Malcolm - N/A Totally not biased but I think he should really just lean into the fuzzy indie rock sound man. He wouldn't be the first artist I suggested this to (looking at you Beabadoobee) but I just think prefer it more. 

Lying - 60/100 This might be the most 60-core song on this album.

Walk to Class -75/100 I surprisingly enjoy this song. Kind of wish it was even funkier than it is but it's the sound he should be focusing on. Good job Mr. Todd.

Florence - 75/100 I must admit this second is inspiring some optimism in my mind for the rest of this album. I was kind of concerned all of Mr. Todd's slow songs just wouldn't be interesting for my in any capacity.

Concrete -70/100 Basically the complete same thoughts as Doll though this song is like 50 seconds longer but I still don't think it does enough with that extra allotted time.

I Do - N/A Ok.

Cheer Me on - 80/100 Once again I'm not beating the electric guitars are good allegations, but I hate to say it this song is good. It has some real pep to it, it feels like it has some good movement and flow from chorus to verse and it's a little catchy too. The verses remind me of the verses from Complicated by Avril Lavigne, and I don't mind it.

I'll Come Back For You - 65/100 

Final Score: 67/100

    Honestly, this album rated a decent amount higher than I thought it would. Starting out, I thought it'd be much closer to the 50-60 range in terms of score for me. When I first listened to it yesterday while I was walking I most definitely thought it wouldn't even be close to sniffing a 70. I mean don't get me wrong, it's fine, and leaves much room to improve. But the second half kind of convinced me that it might have some potential. Once again, I don't think it's very inventive or new for an album in it's lane, but it's not hard to see the framework for Malcolm Todd to make much better music with this album. So you know what, good job Mr. Todd, you were above the expectations I set for you.

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