Car Seat Headrest
Teens of Style
[Matador]
In the run up to this, Will Toledo’s first ‘proper’ release as Car Seat Headrest, there has been no shortage of ink spilled detailing his back story. Having self released a seemingly endless stream of bedroom epics via Bandcamp, his unique patchwork of the last 20 years of indie rock has finally caught the attention of a label, in this case Matador. He now has two albums on the way, this first being this compilation of re-recorded output from previous years, the second, of entirely new material, is slated to appear early next year. The background surrounding this release is not merely gimmickry, Car Seat Headrest’s roots as a personal project unconcerned with widespread consumption is consistently and effectively represented in his work.
Toledo moves from style to style, oblivious by design to the tropes of indie-pop songwriting, channelling the kind of off-the-cuff, inspired eccentricity that was the speciality of so many great acts of the era, from the Breeders to Pavement. In a moment of characteristic candour on album highlight Strangers, Toledo states how, as a child, he felt Michael Stipe was speaking directly to him. CSHR’s work has a similar effect on the listener, at times he entirely abandons a song’s principle theme to address the audience directly, dissecting his own personal life or unpacking the activity of making music itself. Toledo is brazenly unafraid to lay himself and his process bare, and thankfully people are finally ready to listen.
Like this, Try these.
The Breeders – Pod
Pavement – Wowee Zowee
Tomorrow’s Tulips – When
Words: Danny Wilson
