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Mal Blum

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Mal Blum
Mal Blum in June 2015
Background information
GenresFolk, Anti-folk, Rock, Punk, Folk punk
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
LabelsDon Giovanni Records Saddle Creek Records
Websitemalblum.com

Mal Blum is an American songwriter, musician, writer and performer from New York. Blum has released six full-length albums, most recently Pity Boy in 2019.[1]

Career

They[a] spent their early career promoting self-booked DIY solo tours[3] and also self-released their early albums before signing to record labels[4]

In 2014, they signed to punk label Don Giovanni records and announced they would be working on a new album produced by Marissa Paternoster of the band Screaming Females.[5] After the Don Giovanni release of You Look a Lot Like Me in 2015, Blum began touring nationally as a band with a bassist and drummer, contributing to what critics called a "more developed but still gritty, punk" sound.[6]

Blum was a recurring musical and non-musical guest on The Chris Gethard Show.[7][8] and has had their music featured on Logo TV's The Click List: Top 10 Videos and NewNowNext Music[9] They have also appeared as a musical guest on the Welcome to Night Vale (WTNV) podcast and toured extensively opening for WTNV's National and International live shows in 2018 and 2019.[10][11]

In February 2019 Blum released a new single, "Things Still Left To Say,"[12] and in March 2019 they toured with Lucy Dacus.[7] That year they released the album Pity Boy.[1] Pitchfork's Abby Jones categorized Pity Boy as a shift "into potent pop-punk that recalls both Hop Along and Titus Andronicus." noting the newfound focus on guitarist Audrey Zee Whitesides' electric riffs, while maintaining the lyrics as "the album's centerpiece" writes Jones,

If the electric guitar had evolved into a supporting actor by Blum’s last album, 2016’s You Look a Lot Like Me, then it’s the lead on Pity Boy. The nimble, vigorous riffs [...] ricocheting like rubber balls around “I Don’t Want To” and “Not My Job” with Blum’s vocals surging in countermelody.[13]

Max Cohen, in her review for Bandcamp's "Album of the Day" series, writes of Pity Boy's production value:

It’s punk in spirit, but the production is rich and warm, wrapping the power chords and solos in a sunny, welcoming fuzz. At their best, as on the jangly opener “Things Still Left to Say,” they sound like The Buzzcocks, if The Buzzcocks opted for compassion instead of bile.[14]

In August 2020, Mal Blum was tapped to write music for Season 2 of Netflix's Trinkets television show. They wrote the song "Passenger Seat" to be used in a recurring story arc for the character Elodie [15]

On Oct 20, 2020 Blum announced a new single to be released on Saddle Creek Records as part of the label's 7 inch series.[16]

They have contributed non-musical written work to Autostraddle,[17] Huffington Post,[18] and The Fader.[19]

Personal life

Blum is openly transgender and queer.[1] They attended State University of New York at Purchase.[20] They are Jewish. Of their songwriting style, a recent reviewer writes:

Although their songs’ subject matters often touch on heavier subjects, Blum’s dry approach to otherwise difficult topics typifies Jewish humor.[4]

Blum was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, but has only spoken occasionally about it in interviews [21]

Discography

  • Nobody Waits (2020)
  1. Nobody Waits
  2. San Cristóbal
  • Pity Boy (2019)
  1. Things Still Left To Say
  2. Not My Job
  3. See Me
  4. Odds
  5. Splinter
  6. Black Coffee
  7. Did You Get What You Wanted
  8. I Don't Want To
  9. Salt Flats
  10. Well, Fuck
  11. Gotta Go
  12. Maybe I'll Wait


  • You Look A Lot Like Me (2015)
  1. Archive
  2. Better Go
  3. Robert Frost
  4. Cool Party
  5. Split, Splitting
  6. Reality TV
  7. Iowa
  8. Better Than I Was
  9. New Orleans
  10. The Shrink Thinks
  • Tempest In A Teacup (2013)
  1. Overseas Now
  2. Side I'm On
  3. Altitude (This Party Sucks)
  4. The Bodies, The Zombies!
  5. Counting My Breaths
  6. Brooklyn
  7. With Samson In Washington State
  8. The Difference
  9. Valentine's Day


  • Every Time You Go Somewhere (2010)
  1. San Cristóbal
  2. Watercolors
  3. Baltimore
  4. New Year's Eve
  5. Fine!
  6. Wait Forever, Baby
  7. Circus Heart Pt. 1
  8. Circus Heart Pt. 2
  9. I Got Drunk
  10. Weary


  • Goodnight Sugarpop (2008)
  1. Cut it off
  2. Dysmorphic
  3. Country Song
  4. Hypocrite
  5. My Name is Earthworm
  6. Waiting In Line
  7. The Suburban Summer Polka
  8. Tumbleweed
  9. Ode to Kulele * video reached number 10 on LOGO's Video of Year for 2009
  10. You Should Be Here
  11. The Jugular
  12. I have been listening


[22]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Blum is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wolper, Caitlin. "Mal Blum Explores Self-Destructive Habits On 'Pity Boy'". Nylon. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Keller, Jessica. "Hanging Out With Mal Blum". Her Campus.
  3. ^ "Mal Blum". Mal Blum. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Fleishman, Hannah. "Mal Blum's Music Was Made For Queer Jews".
  5. ^ "Mal Blum joins Don Giovanni Records". Mal Blum. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "REVIEW: Allison Weiss, Mal Blum, Winter, Kid in the Attic, Dump Him at Cuisine En Locale (11/4) - Allston Pudding". November 10, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Shows". Mal Blum. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "I think we can all agree that Mal Blum has been a... | The Chris Gethard Show". Thechrisgethardshow.tumblr.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  9. ^ St.Brooklyn, The Acheron 57 Waterbury; NY; is 21, 11206 Doors 8:00 PM This event; over. "Emilyn Brodsky, Mal Blum, Hailey Wojcik, Kid In The Attick - Tickets - The Acheron - Brooklyn, NY - December 4th, 2014". Ticketfly. Retrieved March 19, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Merka Nelson, Kelly (November 24, 2017). "Welcome to Night Vale Brings Eldritch Weather to San Antonio". San Antonio Current. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  11. ^ Biese, Alex (September 10, 2018). "Mal Blum on tour with Welcome to Night Vale for A Spy in the Desert". app. USA Today. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "Watch: Mal Blum Returns With 'Things Still Left To Say'". NPR.org. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  13. ^ Jones, Abby. "Mal Blum, Pity Boy, 7.5". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  14. ^ Cohen, Max. "Bandcamp's Album of the Day". Bandcamp. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  15. ^ https://www.autostraddle.com/mal-blum-on-writing-music-for-trinkets-queer-representation-and-the-trans-narratives-of-bruce-springsteen/
  16. ^ https://saddle-creek.com/collections/mal-blum/products/nobody-waits-b-w-san-cristobal
  17. ^ "Mal Blum". Autostraddle.
  18. ^ "Mal Blum - HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.com.
  19. ^ "10 NYC DIY Venues That Closed This Year And Why We'll Miss Them". The FADER.
  20. ^ "Josh Gondelman and People He Admires". www.unionhallny.com. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  21. ^ https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/07/03/pity-boy-mal-blum-interview-tour/1587822001/
  22. ^ "Albums". Mal Blum. Retrieved March 19, 2019.


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