Car Seat Headrest is the moniker of Bandcamp veteran Will Toledo, who has in the past 5 years or so, released over ten albums in total, all recorded with very modest means. The album he put out last year, Teens Of Style, was the band's first outing on a major label, and while that album did in fact have label backing, it still sounded like a bedroom project. However, on this new release, Toledo really shows of his chops as not only a songwriter, but also shows an almost day and night improvement in terms of production quality. In short, Teens Of Denial is not only Car Seat Headrest's best work to date, it may just be my favorite album released thus far in 2016.
Sure, it isn't a perfect LP, but the things that detract from it being a flawless ride just add character to the album, which is already full of character to begin with. The album spans an ambitious 70 minutes or so, but never feels like it is going on too long, and it mixes things up throughout, so not a single moment drags. In fact, the pacing here is superb, often going from an energetic track, like the opener "Fill In The Blank" to a longer, more complex tune like "Vincent". Or take the shift from "Unforgiving Girl (She's Not An)" to the sprawling and beautiful "Cosmic Hero". The album just flows so effortlessly, and provides some stellar tunes along the way.
For example, I absolutely adore the track "(Joe Gets Kicked Out Of School...)", a hilarious, yet contemplative song about getting high and the effects of the drugs themselves, which leads to some pretty interesting imagery. Or the amazing "Killed By Hippie Powers", which is so insanely catchy, I just can't stop myself from humming it to myself at random intervals throughout the day. In fact, darn near every song here is liable to get stuck in your head, even the longer form songs, such as the aforementioned "Cosmic Hero" which opens with a wonderfully 'Neutral Milk Hotel' esque horn part at the beginning.
And I can't talk about how great the songs are without mentioning the lyrics, which range from the ludicrous and hilarious, such as Will musing about trying to "Find the really good porn" to him wanting to hide his insecurities on "1937 State Park", the gambit of emotions that this album goes through really makes it feel like an experience when you sit down and go through the LP in its entirety; something that I think is required to full appreciate every track here. Because while there are some amazing stand alone moments, you can really feel the love of the album that Will has, and Teens Of Denial is a fantastic ALBUM.
My only complaints lie in some slightly iffy production moments; a murky guitar here, a slightly buried vocal part there, but all in all, I can't find much to complain about here. Though I can see some people getting hung up on Will's voice, which goes from a Strokes esque low croon, to a wild and frenzied shriek at the drop of a hat. But to me, I love both sides of is vocal range, and it really helps sell the humor and sincerity that these tunes present.
I've had this album on repeat for the past couple of days, and I have a feeling it will remain in rotation for the rest of the year. The way I can get lost in this album's flow is something that has been sadly missing from a lot of music released thus far in 2016, and I'm glad to say that I've finally found it.
9.5/10
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