Malcolm Todd’s “Bleed” is an Electric Love Song for the Emotionally Vulnerable
Malcolm Todd’s new single for his self-titled album is a solemn energetic ode to how someone can be completely open with another when in a relationship, letting their “heart bleed” when they are a perfect match for each other.
Malcolm opens the song with a verse describing himself in the third person, recognizing how he hides himself around his partner, using a script in conversation or wearing a mask to hide his underlying emotions. The story he’s telling with the following chorus, “Do you wanna know / Know, know about me? / I swear you can take control / Control of how my heart bleeds,” is him trying to be forthcoming about his emotions and letting his partner have full access to anything they’d like to know about him. With a bleeding heart, he’s constantly keeping a lid on his sympathy & empathy, but he’ll let it all out for his partner. They have a certain power over him that lets him take off the mask and be completely vulnerable.
Being in love, or infatuated with someone, to the point of letting them take full control is a level of intimacy that can be extreme in certain situations. Omar Apollo’s feature verse touches on this with his first line being an extended note saying, “Relax / You’ve gotta relax.” The remainder of his verse is telling them how they can channel their energy into being close together, keeping calm and dancing until they’re dead, reinterpreting the well-known phrase, “‘til death do us part.” The final lines of his verse verify how close they are to each other with their love being intertwined through their souls, “Our souls are a match / You’re first, but you’re last / And do you really wanna know?” With Malcolm having so much love to give that his heart bleeds, Omar is ready to receive it all, even if all that love is sociopathic, they are still a match.
With Omar’s verse trying to reel in the emotion of Malcolm’s verse, Malcolm lets loose with a post-chorus repeating “How my heart bleeds,” emphasizing how there’s nothing that can be done to stop his feelings from letting themselves out. Instead of only wearing his heart on his sleeve for anyone to see, he lets it bleed, and blood stains. By saying earlier in the song how their souls are a match, there is a possible interpretation of blood bonding, where they are so intimate and open with each other that they are forever bonded by blood.
Currently supported by two singles, “Chest Pain (I Love)” & “Bleed,” Malcolm Todd’s self-titled album releases on April 4, 2025.
