Chilled Disco for the Soul

Acts of Love is the third album by Toronto-based musician Maylee Todd. A few songs were first heard during her 3-D projection and interactive art installation, “Virtual Womb.” Evolving from her previous albums, Todd maximizes her efforts of creative expression for this 17-track tornado of production.

The album begins with mesmerizing harmonies and a combo of soul, pop and electronica. The soft, cool vocals surface again on “Downtown” and “One of These Days.” Todd opts for a straight-tone throughout most of the album, helping to solidify the album’s chilly atmosphere. “Virtual Life” revolves around this tone and a strange loop that sounds like a squeaky toy on repeat.

Acts of Love was a DIY endeavor by Todd, curated and engineered in her home. This experiment allowed her to flex creative muscles, but in many ways, it sounds like home-studio production quality — which isn’t a compliment. This is especially noticeable on “Secret Teacher,” when Todd dips into strange darkness and uses loops that don’t work well together. She uses the same scattered approach on “Part Time Lover,” weaving a gym whistle, sitcom bass, and an East Asian-styled pipa loop together.

Exaggerated instrumentalization works well on “Disco Dicks 5000” and “Arby’s Combo 1.” Todd plays with various synth loops for a video-game feel on the former. Then imagine the backing track to Harold and Kumar’s field trip to Arby’s; it’s an amusing sense of bliss felt when one loves roast beef. The only lyric is “yeah,” strategically placed over harpsichord highs and a playful loop.  

The other album highlights occur when Todd puts a modern spin on R&B soul. The bedroom track, “From This Moment On” champions women: “It’s a man’s world / it’s hard to move on this earth as a girl,” then “from this moment till the end / can we work on this my friend?” The album closes on the uplifting “I Got My Life.” The song has an easy-going groove and cohesive production to make this empowering track an album favorite.

Maylee Todd’s evolution on her third album shows in the more grounded, soul-pinching tracks. Perhaps several tracks longer than it needed to be, Acts of Love was truly a labor of love and Todd’s creativity was given plenty of room to flourish.