Words, music, images and more from Jim Barnes
On April 2, 2022, my son’s band Car Seat Headrest performed at the Anthem in Washington, DC. Will wasn’t feeling well, so he sat for a portion of a set he described as “more acoustic-y” than usual.
I recorded the ending of his song “Sober to Death,” which features Will singing lead and guitarist Ethan Ives singing the high harmonies.
The next day, Will tested positive for Covid-19, and the band had to suspend its tour.
I was privileged to have violinist Margie Lang-Garnhart join me in performing variations on a hymn I wrote a few years ago, “This is the Day that the Lord Has Made.”
And likewise, it was a privilege to accompany Jeremy Palmer in his rendition of the hymn.
“It was a homecoming of sorts, as Toledo called DC his hometown, having been raised in suburban Virginia and starting his musical career, as he said, sitting with a guitar playing songs.”
—David LeMason on Parklife DC, April 4, 2022
“Car Seat Headrest has hit the road—again redefining how rock is made and played.”
—Sarah Smith in Washington City Paper, April 1, 2022
“Prolific indie-rock band Carseat Headrest makes its way to The Pabst Theater in belated support of the May 2020 album Making A Door Less Open.”
—Milwaukee Record, March 17, 2022
“Seven years since they broke big in indie-rock terms with the clever lo-fi garage-rock album ‘Teens of Denial,’ Virginia bedroom rocker Will Toledo and his now-Seattle-based band lived up to the hype with their most ambitious album yet, 2020’s ‘Making a Door Less Open,’ which incorporated more electronic and new-wave influences but maintained a rocking spirit. They’re finally out promoting it with Bartees Strange opening.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune, “Ten Concerts to See in the Twin Cities This Week,” March 9, 2022
My most recent composition:
“Will Toledo and the band hit the road behind 2020’s Making a Door Less Open starting in March, and the dates go through May.”
—Pitchfork’s 62 Most Anticipated Tours of 2022, Jan. 5, 2022
“The excursion will see Car Seat Headrest selling limited-edition tour-only CD, The MADLO EPs, which features the band’s Summer 2021 digital releases of the EPs MADLO: Influences and MADLO: Remixes. Influences features covers of artists who the band cite as influences, including David Bowie and The Who, on their stellar 2020 album, Making A Door Less Open, while Remixes sees interpretations of MADLO songs from Superorganism, Scuba and more as well as from Toledo and Katz’s CSH side project 1 Trait Danger.”
–Nate Todd on JamBase, Oct. 28, 2021
“Car Seat Headrest have unveiled the details of a North American tour which will take place during March and April next year.”
“Car Seat Headrest has just revealed that they will be hitting the road this spring. In March, the band will launch an extensive run of dates – traveling the East Coast, West Coast, and points between.”
—Glide Magazine, Oct. 27, 2021
“Car Seat Headrest are heading out on tour in 2022. Bartees Strange will support on the majority of dates, and, at the shows, the band will sell some limited tour-only CDs compiling their summer releases: MADLO: Influences and MADLO: Remixes.”
–Evan Minsker on Pitchfork, Oct. 26, 2021
“Will Toledo and his merry band of indie pranksters have today unveiled the Car Sea Headrest Masquerade Tour, kicking off March 16 in St. Paul and wrapping in Vancouver on May 20.”
–Michael O’Connor Marotta on Vanyaland, Oct. 26, 2021
“The tour celebrates their 2020 album Making a Door Less Open, which our own writer Alessandro Gueli described as the band’s best album to date: ‘Picture yourself watching the sun go down, except it doesn’t hurt when you stare into the light. Sure, there’s less direction on this album, less cohesion than projects before, but that somehow feels like the key to all its success.'”
–Skyler Graham on mxdwn.com, Oct. 26, 2021
“While some of us patiently wait for a studio version of the ripping take on Lou Reed’s ‘Waves of Fear’ that Car Seat Headrest brought to Brooklyn Steel in 2018, we have a four-song covers EP from Will Toledo to tide us over, including his bouncy take on David Bowie’s Station to Station classic ‘Golden Years.'”
–Jason Lipshutz & Joe Lynch on Billboard, June 28, 2021
“June’s EPs double down on the new direction, enjoying newfound energy in ‘Running Up That Hill’ and inviting unlikely collaboration in a re-work with Superorganism.”
–James Reynolds on The Indiependent, June 24, 2021
“Car Seat Headrest share ‘Making A Door Less Open’ remix and cover EPs”
–Matthew Neale on NME, June 23, 2021
“A year on since the release of ‘Making A Door Less Open’, Car Seat Headrest are sharing two new EPs consisting of influences for the band’s 12th studio album and remixes of its tracks.”
“Car Seat Headrest are dropping not one but two digital-only EPs today – MADLO: Influences and MADLO: Remixes.”
–Logan Blake on Spin, June 22, 2021
“Last year, Car Seat Headrest released the underrated Making A Door Less Open. Today, Will Toledo has put out two new EPs attached to the album, one called MADLO: Influences and the other MADLO: Remixes.”
–James Rettig on Stereogum, June 22, 2021
“MADLO: Influences includes covers of David Bowie’s ‘Golden Years’, Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’, Nine Inch Nails’ ‘March of the Pigs’, and the Who’s ‘Substitute.'”
–Konstantinos Pappas on ourculture, June 22, 2021
“MADLO: Remixes features reworks by Superorganism, Scuba, yeule, Dntel, and 1 Trait Danger.”
–Evan Minsker 0n Pitchfork, June 22, 2021
This my latest composition, for flutes, cello and melodica. The title was inspired by a verse from Psalm 84, “They make it a place of springs.” The last section reprises a verse of the prelude I wrote last year, “Glory to God.”
“Since their breakthrough with 2016’s album Teens of Denial, Car Seat Headrest have become one of the major forces in rock music, with touring and festival appearances cementing their popularity.”
–Ethan Gordon on Vice, Jan. 25, 2021