Mal Blum’s New Album The Villain
There is no one true villain.
Though the title, The Villain seems to point to the torchy breakup aspects present within the album, it represents larger, overall themes. Instead, each song explores aspects and archetypes of villainy in ourselves, in others and in the world around us. Sometimes the villain is a villain in its truest form, sometimes the villain is an unreliable narrator, sometimes the villain is merely a heel-turn performance of villainy. And, perhaps most notably, given the historical and mounting demonization of trans people as villainous bogeymen (attitudes that are explored on tracks like “Killer” and “A Small Request”), sometimes the villain is a purposeful construct and does not exist in a physical sense.
STATS & SOCIALS
120,000 average current monthly listeners
Range 100,000 - 300,000 monthly listeners last 12 months (off-cycle)
58 million streams, 175 countries, 131 editorial playlists
43,000 followers; 2.3 million likes
#malblum hashtag: 2.8 million views
Two tracks organically viral – over 600k combined user videos with millions of impressions
INSTAGRAM
40k followers, current monthly reach of 60k+ users
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
“Blum's songs practically brim over with clever ideas and keen observations, interspersed with notes of raw, unvarnished humanity.” – NPR
“[W]hat distinguishes Blum’s music from others working at the nexus of punk, pop, and confessional songwriting: specifically, Blum’s ability to diffuse difficult thoughts with humor and their fascination with the metaphysical gap between one’s presence among others and one’s internal experience.” – PASTE
Mal Blum talks new EP, trans masc music and who’s gonna win ‘Drag Race’
Mal Blum – Pity Boy (2019) | Pitchfork Album Review
Mal Blum – Pity Boy (2019) Bandcamp Album of the Day
Billboard Charting:
Ain’t it Nice (EP, Self-release, 2022)
Alternative New Artist #46, Top New Artist Albums #122
Pity Boy (LP, Don Giovanni, 2019)
Alternative #16, Heatseakers #38
CATALOG
All releases fully recouped
Ain’t it Nice (EP) - self release/owns rights (2022) -
Nobody Waits (7 inch) - Saddle Creek Records (2020)
Pity Boy (LP) - Don Giovanni Records (2019) (10 yr license)
You Look a Lot Like Me (LP) - Don Giovanni Records (2015) (10 yr license)
Tempest in a Teacup (LP) - self release/owns rights (2013)
Every Time You Go Somewhere (LP) - self released/owns rights (2010)
Goodnight Sugarpop (LP) - self release/owns rights (2008) (not on streaming)
SYNC HIGHLIGHTS
“Fox Hunter" (Instrumental) – Stormy (2024, Peacock)
“Things Still Left to Say” – Crush (2023, Hulu)
“See Me” – Work In Progress (2021, Showtime)
“Passenger Seat” – Trinkets (2020, Netflix)
CONTACT / AFFILIATIONS
Music Publisher: Josh Briggs (Terrorbird Media) Josh@Terrorbird.com
Mal’s original compositions featured in projects for Showtime, Hulu, Netflix, and in national commercials
Touring: Gregg Little (LRA) – Gregg@LRArtists.com – 678-515-3152
Union Memberships: SAG-AFTRA