“The beautiful thing about this record is how it doesn’t demand our loyalty, only that we admit we feel the same way.”
–Jeremy Gordon re: Teens of Denial in Pitchfork’s “200 Best Albums of the 2010s,” Oct. 8, 2019
Car Seat Headrest in the News – Sept. 2019
“Indie prince Will Toledo leads a performance that combines the scale, sensitivity, and sense of theatre that have propelled his project beyond their indie niche into the mainstream. “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales” is the evening’s anthem, with a singalong that continues well into the next day.”
—Drunkenwerewolf review of 2019 Green Man Festival in Wales, Sept. 16, 2019
Car Seat Headrest in the news – July 2019
“The short film follows the creative arc of completing a new song…The track in question is the brilliant ‘Stop Lying to Me’ which has a whole heap of power to it. “
–Jack Whatley in Far Out Magazine, July 9, 2019
“…Toledo is returning to his more collaborative roots; today…TIDAL is premiering the third and final episode of Car Seat Headrest’s documentary, I Haven’t Done Shit This Year — and it features an in-progress song titled ‘Stop Lying to Me,’ likely slated for the band’s next album.”
–Brenna Ehrlich on tidal.com, July 8, 2019
“Car Seat Headrest have shared the final installment of ‘I Haven’t Done Shit This Year,’ their behind-the-scenes documentary made in partnership with Tidal.
–Sam Sodomsky on Pitchfork, July 8, 2019
Car Seat Headrest in the news – June 2019
“Seattle-via-Virginia indie outfit Car Seat Headrest seemed prime for some afternoon sunburn (they surely had the SPF30 in full effect) and rocked their way through jammers like ‘Bodys’ from last year’s new / old Twin Fantasy and an excellent ‘Fill In The Blank’ from their 2016 album Teens of Denial.”
–Maureen Walsh on The Key, June 24, 2019
“Car Seat Headrest have released a striking filmed live version of ‘Fill In The Blank’ on YouTube, the first cut from the band’s newly announced digital live album, Commit Yourself Completely, set for release June 17.”
–Savannah Sicurella in Paste Magazine, June 12, 2019
“‘Commit Yourself Completely’ is due to arrive on June 17 and will be a digital only release.”
–Laura Johnson on stereoboard.com, June 12, 2019
“This isn’t necessarily the best possible version of each track, but it’s some of the most fun we’ve had on stage.”
–Will Toledo quoted on Pitchfork, June 12, 2019
“I had never collaborated with anyone and I really trusted Will [Toledo], he has a sense for how songs go.”
–Stef Chura quoted by Trish Connelly on Northern Transmissions, June 7, 2019
Car Seat Headrest in the news – May 2019
“Produced by Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toledo, [Stef Chura’s Midnight]features a sonic depth echoed in his own dynamic LPs: thrilling guitar riffs, exhilarating choruses and jagged nuances.”
–Ilana Kaplan on NPR, May 30, 2019
“Produced entirely by Car Seat Headrest mastermind Will Toledo, an early admirer who invited Chura out on tour before her first album even came out, Midnight sharpens and focuses the shaggy ’90s indie of her debut into the kind of lean, mean, classic garage-rock that Toledo does so well without losing any of Chura’s unique voice.”
–Peter Helman on Stereogum, May 30, 2019
“From Amigos Invisibles to Car Seat Headrest, check out all of the free con certs this summer at Millennium Park”
“Stef Chura and Will Toledo duet on the nocturnal rocker ‘Sweet Sweet Midnight'”
–Rob Hakimian on The 405, May 15, 2019
Toledo produced and recorded the entirety of Midnight, and his sonic influence is distinctly felt on “Sweet Sweet Midnight.”
–Connor Duffey on Stereogum, May 15, 2019
Blackburn Inn gives new life to a site with a dark past
A weekend stay last month at the Blackburn Inn in Staunton, Va., gave my wife Juli and me an appreciation for a freedom we usually take for granted — the ability to come and go as we please.
After checking in, we were free to leave the premises to stroll around Staunton’s bustling downtown and enjoy an hour of virtuoso performances at a Bach festival. Later, after dinner in the hotel’s bistro, we returned downtown to enjoy some local brews.
This freedom to leave the grounds was something that thousands of people who had once inhabited the historic hotel and neighboring buildings did not enjoy.
Car Seat Headrest in the news – March 2019
Car Seat Headrest in the news – March 2019
“Lead singer Will Toledo’s voice echoed through the air and captivated the crowd in a blissful stupor. And the crowd was absolutely loving it, jumping up and down giving the band the high energy they were delivering back to them.”
–Amanda Hefner on TwinCitiesMedia.net, March 15, 2019
“…Toledo has established Car Seat Headrest as one of the definitive acts in modern indie rock, crafting dynamic and expansive songs while remaining rooted in a meat-and-potatoes guitar sound. His discography is massive and accomplished, and now he has a live show to match.”
–Chris DeVille on Stereogum, March 15, 2019
“Thankfully, from a very early age, Will Toledo has possessed the type of brain that knows how to wring beauty from that sea of confusion and bring it out into the world through song.”
“Every indie-rock lover walked out of the venue that night feeling on top of the world after a killer show, and I would definitely recommend seeing Car Seat Headrest next time they stop in your hometown.”
–Sanna Polskis on tuesdayzine, March 9, 2019
“Midnight was produced by Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toledo.”
–Braudie Blais-Billie on Pitchfork, March 6, 2019
“One of 2018’s most talked-about rock bands, Will Toledo and co. have covered the Monkees’ 1967 track in a high-spirited dedication to bassist and vocalist Peter Tork, who died last week.”
–“The Playlist” in i newspaper, March 1, 2019
“If you enjoy experimental and soulful music, I’m sure you’d love these guys.”
–Angela Mastrogiacomo in Infectious Magazine, March 1, 2019
Car Seat Headrest in the news – Feb. 2019
“Almost no one in indie rock right now shoots the horizon with as much horsepower and ragged exuberance as Car Seat Headrest.”
–Bao Le-Huu in Orlando Weekly, Feb. 25, 2019
“Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toledo is ready to meet Tampa Bay”
–Ray Roa on Creative Loafing, Feb. 22, 2019
“Toledo connects the fragility of young love to the delicacy of the human body, the vessels that allow us to experience life fully.”
–Ellen Johnson in The Village Voice, Feb. 13, 2019
“Car Seat Headrest have announced a few new headlining U.S. tour dates for this year.”
–Jackson Pacheco on Paste, Feb. 11, 2019
“The band will play concerts in Buffalo, Nashville, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, in addition to their previously announced shows kicking off on Valentine’s Day in Boston.”
–Madison Bloom on Pitchfork, Feb. 11, 2019
“The band are on a break right now, but are set to kick off the next leg of the tour in Boston on Valentine’s Day.”
–Will Gottsegen on Spin, Feb. 11, 2019
“Toledo’s refurbished blast from the past joined a host of records last year that promised hope while granting space to the sinking feeling around this country’s uncertain future.”
–Sasha Geffen in The Village Voice, Feb. 8, 2019
“Pazz & Jop: The Top 100 Albums of 2018”
Car Seat Headrest in the news – Dec. 2018
“Will Toledo, the 26-year-old who leads Car Seat Headrest, studied the 1990s scene that birthed Wilco and Low, and his knotty record “Twin Fantasy” (Matador) suggests he learned his lessons well. It’s a concept album about teenage alienation and desire, channeling fear and frustration in songs that simmer and then explode.”
–Mark Richardson in the Wall Street Journal, Dec. 18, 2018
“…the wit and passion of Toledo’s existential angst sound as fresh as ever.”
–Marc Hogan on Pitchfork, Dec. 17, 2018
“Through Toledo’s signature wry wit and an almost stream-of-consciousness vulnerability at times, “Twin Fantasy” 2.0 rides the emotional roller coaster and occasional awkwardness of young love — unrequited or otherwise — armed with a refined vision and cacophony of guitars.”
–Michael Rietmulder in the Seattle Times, Dec. 15, 2018
“Twin Fantasy is the kind of album that teaches you how to listen to it while you’re listening to it, a dense, dizzying rock record that’s two parts Baudrillard, two parts Badfinger.”
–J. Edward Keyes on Bandcamp, Dec. 13, 2018
“It’s deeply personal music — music unconcerned about the scene around it or the acclaim it could earn — and that’s why it’s worth listening to.”
–Pryor Stroud on Pop Matters, Dec. 12, 2018
“The lyrics are first-class, clever and distinctive, and as you progress through the album the things to which Toledo speaks of begin to accumulate within you, opening up a new level of appreciation, or maybe understanding, of Twin Fantasy.”
—Across the Margin, Dec. 12, 2018
“Twin Fantasy is an absolute best-case scenario for Car Seat Headrest fans, whether they’ve heard the original or not.”
–Corey Van den Hoogenband in Exclaim!, Dec. 4, 2018
“If every rock song was this immaculate, we’d call it ‘gold’ instead of ‘rock.'”
Car Seat Headrest in the news, Nov. 2018
“The production quality of Car Seat Headrest’s rerecorded version of 2011’s Twin Fantasy adds to the clarity of the overall music, while its concerns and revelations are as complex and timeless as ever.”
–Lewis Wade on The Skinny, Nov. 26, 2018
“[Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales] is one of the most existentially satisfying songs of recent memory, a simmering pot into which to pour your resentments, internal and external, before letting the band rip that pressure valve right off and to let all of your troubles run free.”
–Max Pilley on musicOMH, Nov. 13, 2018
“As the walls dripped with sweat and the steam rose from an exhausted crowd, an old quote from an unlikely source (Ozzy Osbourne!) sprang to mind: ‘When people go to see a rock band they want to have their heart ripped out and handed back to them in a better condition’ – I’m sure most will agree that Car Seat Headrest had done just that.”
–Chris Hatch on Secret Meeting, Nov. 10, 2018
“It has been thoroughly exciting to see Car Seat Headrest grow, not just in members, but from cult Internet darlings to one of the larger festival-crowd gatherings in recent years – and as they plough on through a tour supporting a remake of Twin Fantasy, arguably their best record, we thought it only right to celebrate Toledo’s discography with a classic top 10 songs list!”
–Josh Adams on Transistor, Nov. 1, 2018