Car Seat Headrest

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Car Seat Headrest

Car Seat Headrest

Car Seat Headrest began in 2010 as a solo project in Virginia (now based out of Seattle) when Will Toledo made ten Car Seat Headrest albums in college, kinda’ like Led Zeppelin’s first four albums, he just used the number scale to title his albums. This music is super-lo-fi yet super-catchy. Toledo has said, "I probably would not have been able to make [those] album[s] if I had thought anyone was going to listen to it.” There is something raw and experimental about those records, like the early Animal Collective albums. He would record in cars, bathrooms, and other solitary spaces while recording those first ten records during college. In 2015, he signed with Matador Records and added Andrew Katz on drums, Ethan Ives on guitar, and Seth Dalby on bass. Now ten years in, the four piece is starting fresh with their 2020 release, Making A Door Less Open. The album, other than finds a shift in sound towards electronic, is their first new music since 2016’s major breakthrough Teens of Denial. [Side note: a last-minute cease and desist request from Rik Ocase after Toledo decided to cover a bit of the Car’s “Just What I Needed” at the end of Toledo’s song [“Just What I Wanted/Not Just What I Needed”] something his publishing company had previously signed off on resulted in Matador having to destroy a bunch of records. I know Ocasek is beyond the living now, but that was still a dick move.] Anyways, Teens of Denial is an amazing album. This is when I got on board. There was also 2011’s excellent Twin Fantasy, which kept it lo-fi (Toledo would go on to re-record the album with the full band in 2018) and 2015’s Matador debut Teens of Style which saw the gleams of genius to come in Toldeo and his band. This is a young band on the rise. Mister Toledo knows how to balance pop oddities with emotional directness. His lyrics are intelligent and self-aware. This is enjoyable music. Guitars meet lo-fi synths in this noisy, yet, tuneful indie rock project. It’s good to know people are still making direct rock ‘n’ roll. Raw! That is what rock is all about at its best…

It's…

Car Seat Headrest.

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