Mal Blum returns with new LP, The Villain, out via Get Better Records --a striking resurgence that combines the artist’s trademark blend of searing and wry lyricism with novel boldness and slight camp amongst a backdrop of textured indie rock, alt-rock and pop instrumentation. The album is ultimately a work about human complexity and the stories we tell ourselves versus the stories we are told about ourselves. There is no one villain. Sometimes the villain is an unreliable narrator, sometimes a misunderstood character, sometimes a heel-turn performance of villainy. Perhapsmost notably, given the historical and rapidly mounting demonization of trans …