Car Seat Headrest
| Car Seat Headrest | |
|---|---|
 Will Toledo performing with Car Seat Headrest at 100 Club in London, England in June 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Leesburg, Virginia, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Matador |
| Associated acts | Naked Giants, Smash Mouth, 1 Trait Danger |
| Website |
carseatheadrest |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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Car Seat Headrest is an American indie rock band originally from Leesburg, Virginia, and currently located in Seattle, Washington. The band consists of Will Toledo (vocals, guitar, piano), Ethan Ives (guitar, bass, backing vocals), Seth Dalby (bass), and Andrew Katz (drums, percussion). Beginning as a solo recording project by Toledo in 2010, Car Seat Headrest self-released 12 albums on the music platform Bandcamp, before signing to Matador Records in 2015. Car Seat Headrest began touring in 2016 as a full band, presenting material from their album Teens of Denial. Toledo's work is notable for its large online cult following, and the group has received attention from publications including Pitchfork,[1] Rolling Stone,[2] The New Yorker[3] and Paste,[4] amongst others.
History
2010–14: Lo-fi and home recordings, from 1 to How to Leave Town
Car Seat Headrest began as the solo project of Will Toledo shortly after stalling with his original project, Nervous Young Men, soon after graduating high school. The original aim of the project was to release more experimental songs anonymously, to see if it would catch anyone's attention.[5] Toledo chose the name "Car Seat Headrest" as he would often record the vocals to his early albums in the back seat of his car for privacy.[3] While his production has gradually become less lo-fi, Toledo still remains an effective example of the DIY ethic.
Throughout the summer of 2010, Toledo released his first four albums under the Car Seat Headrest name: 1, 2, 3, and 4.[5] 1 and 2 would incorporate less traditional song structures, with stream-of-consciousness lyrics, whereas 3 and 4 would begin to cement his lo-fi indie rock style. Following the numbered albums, Toledo began attending classes at Virginia Commonwealth University, and released the Sunburned Shirts EP during his first semester.[6] The Sunburned Shirts EP was then combined with his fifth LP, 5,[7] to create his first titled album, My Back Is Killing Me Baby, released in March 2011.[8] Songs culled from 5 would later appear on the b-sides compilation album Little Pieces of Paper with "No" Written on Them.[9]
After a difficult and lonely year at VCU, Toledo transferred to the College of William & Mary, where he would release his next album, Twin Fantasy.[10] The album centred around a relationship that Toledo was in at the time, and was followed up by 2012's Monomania and Starving While Living EP.
It would take another year for Toledo to release his next project under the Car Seat Headrest name, an over two-hour long album titled Nervous Young Man. Several of the songs, and the title of the album, were taken from his original project, Nervous Young Men. Released alongside Nervous Young Man, for those who paid $5 or more, was a compilation album entitled Disjecta Membra.[11] Toledo's final release, both by himself and without a label, was How to Leave Town, an hour long EP with heavy electronic instrumentation and more ambitious song structures.
2015–present: Matador Records and hi-fi albums
In September 2015, Car Seat Headrest announced on Facebook that he had signed an album deal with Matador Records.[12] Toledo, who had recently graduated and moved to Seattle, recruited bassist Jacob Bloom and drummer Andrew Katz through Craigslist to record and tour his next album. In October 2015, Car Seat Headrest released the compilation album Teens of Style, the first to not be self-released exclusively via Bandcamp. Shortly after the album's release, Bloom left the group in order to attend medical school, and was replaced by bassist Ethan Ives.[13]
Ives would later switch to guitar and other instruments, such as synthesizer, with Seth Dalby taking over on bass in 2016. A new album created with traditional studio processes, Teens of Denial, was released on May 20, 2016.[14] The album received universal acclaim, and brought the band a new wave of popularity.
An alternate mix of Car Seat Headrest's 2017 single "War Is Coming (If You Want It)" was released on Bandcamp for one day with profits going to the Transgender Law Center. A more final version of the track was released ten days later.[15]
On December 13, 2017, the band released a re-recorded version of "Beach Life-In-Death", the second track on Twin Fantasy on Spotify. This sparked fan rumours that the album would be re-recorded and released the following year.[16] On December 27, 2017, an Amazon listing detailing a re-recorded version of Twin Fantasy was found by fans, and subsequently uploaded to the Car Seat Headrest subreddit.[17] This was followed up by a listing on SRCVinyl.com with the date February 16, 2018.[18][19] On January 9, 2018, Matador Records formally announced the release of the re-recording, entitled Twin Fantasy (Face to Face), alongside a re-release of the original recording. Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) was released via Matador on February 16. The original, which has been re-titled Twin Fantasy (Mirror to Mirror), was released on vinyl as a part of Record Store Day on April 21. This re-recording's announcement coincided with a tour announcement and a music video for the single "Nervous Young Inhumans".[20] On February 15, 2018, the band covered "Fallen Horses" by Smash Mouth, with Smash Mouth returning the favor with a cover of "Something Soon".[21]
Style
AllMusic biographer Mark Deming wrote that Car Seat Headrest created "moody and introspective lo-fi pop tunes that are melodic but structurally ambitious at once".[22] Writing for Pitchfork, Jeremy Gordon stated that on Teens of Denial, "Will Toledo reaffirms that he is ahead of the pack as an imaginative singer-songwriter, capable of crafting dynamic indie rock."[23]
Members
Current
- Will Toledo – vocals, guitar, keyboards (2010–present), drums, bass (2010–2015)
- Ethan Ives – guitar (2015, 2016–present), bass (2015–2016)
- Andrew Katz – drums, percussion (2014–present)
- Seth Dalby – bass (2016–present)
Touring members
- Grant Mullen – guitar, backing vocals (2016, 2018−present)
- Gianni Aiello – synthesizers, backing vocals (2016, 2018−present)
- Henry LaVallee – auxiliary percussion (2016, 2018−present)
Past
- Katie Wood - guitar (2012–2014)
- Austin Ruhf - bass (2012–2014)
- Christian Northover - drums (2012–2014)
- Jacob Bloom – bass (2014–2015)
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [24] |
US Indie [25] |
BEL (FL) [26] |
BEL (WA) [27] |
NED [28] |
NZ [29] |
POR [30] |
SCO [31] |
SPA [32] |
UK [33] | |||||||
| 1 |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2 |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 3 |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 4 |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| My Back Is Killing Me Baby |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Twin Fantasy |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Monomania |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Nervous Young Man |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Teens of Style | —[upper-alpha 1] | — | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| Teens of Denial |
|
180 | 15 | 121 | — | 82 | — | — | — | — | 198 | |||||
| Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) |
|
92 | 3 | 43 | 200 | 88 | —[upper-alpha 2] | 18 | 29 | 96 | 68 | |||||
| "—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released | ||||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
- Little Pieces of Paper With "No" Written on Them (2010)
- Disjecta Membra (2013)[36]
Extended plays
Singles
| Year | Title | MEX Air. [39] |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "No Passion" | — | Teens of Style |
| "Something Soon"[40] | — | ||
| "Times to Die" | — | ||
| 2016 | "Vincent" | 34 | Teens of Denial |
| "Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales" | — | ||
| "Fill in the Blank" | — | ||
| "Destroyed by Hippie Powers" | — | ||
| 2017 | "War Is Coming (If You Want It)"[41] | — | Non-album single |
| "Beach Life-In-Death" | — | Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) | |
| 2018 | "Nervous Young Inhumans"[42] | 44 | |
| "Cute Thing" | — | ||
| "My Boy (Twin Fantasy)" | — | ||
Notes
- ↑ Teens of Style did not enter the US Billboard 200, but peaked at number 19 on the US Heatseekers Albums Chart.[34]
- ↑ Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) did not enter the NZ Top 40 Albums Chart, but peaked at number 1 on the NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart.[35]
References
- ↑ "Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Style | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. October 28, 2015. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
- ↑ Hermes, Will (2015-11-02). "Car Seat Headrest Teens Of Style Album Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
- 1 2 "Car Seat Headrest Grows up on Bandcamp". The New Yorker. November 2, 2015. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
- ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015 :: Music :: Lists :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
- 1 2 carseatheadrest (2018-06-29), Car Seat Headrest - I Haven't Done Sh*t This Year (TIDAL Documentary), retrieved 2018-07-17
- ↑ "A Guide To All Of Car Seat Headrest's Pre-Fame Albums (All 11 Of Them)". UPROXX. 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
- ↑ "100 minutes of solitude, by Car Seat Headrest". Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
- ↑ "My Back Is Killing Me Baby, by Car Seat Headrest". Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
- ↑ "Little Pieces Of Paper With "No" Written On Them, by Car Seat Headrest". Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
- ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (2015-11-24). "Car Seat Headrest: Dorm-Room Prodigy to Indie-Rock Sensation". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
- ↑ "Nervous Young Man, by Car Seat Headrest". car seat headrest. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
- ↑ we got a label Archived 2018-01-15 at the Wayback Machine.September 1, 2015. Facebook.
- ↑ Indieheads Podcast (2018-02-17), Indieheads Podcast Episode #111: Andrew Katz vs. The Indieheads Podcast, retrieved 2018-08-16
- ↑ Coming May 20 : Car Seat Headrest – Teens Of Denial Archived 2016-03-27 at the Wayback Machine.. March 24, 2016. Matador Records.
- ↑ Rettig, James (August 14, 2017). "Car Seat Headrest – "War Is Coming (If You Want It)"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017.
- ↑ ""Beach Life in Death" by Car Seat Headrest Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ↑ Twin Fantasy, Matador Records, 2018-02-16, retrieved 2017-12-29
- ↑ "Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy 2XLP Vinyl". www.srcvinyl.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ↑ "Coming February 16 : Car Seat Headrest – 'Twin Fantasy' ; "Nervous Young Inhumans" Video Premiere". Matablog. Matador Records. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ↑ "Car Seat Headrest Announces Release Plans For Twin Fantasy". www.americansongwriter.com. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ↑ "Smash Mouth Cover Car Seat Headrest: Listen". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
- ↑ Deming, Mark. "Car Seat Headrest | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-05-23. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
- ↑ "Car Seat Headrest – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ↑ "Car Seat Headrest – Billboard Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ↑ "Discografie Car Seat Headrest". ultratop.be/nl/ Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20.
- ↑ "Belgian Positions (Wallonie)". ultratop.be. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ↑ "Dutch Charts - Car Seat Headrest". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 2016-09-16.
- ↑ "charts.org.nz - Discography Car Seat Headrest". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ↑ "portuguesecharts.com - Discography Car Seat Headrest". portuguesecharts.com. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ↑ Peaks in Scotland:
- Twin Fantasy (Face to Face): "Official Scottish Albums Chart: 23 February 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ↑ "spanishcharts.com - Discography Car Seat Headrest". spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ↑ Peaks of Car Seat Headrest in the United Kingdom:
- All except noted: "Car Seat Headrest UK Charts". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/. Archived from the original on 2016-09-11.
- Teens of Denial: "CHART: CLUK Update 16.07.2016 (wk28)". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Car Seat Headrest – Billboard Heatseekers". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ↑ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 26, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ↑ Elliot, Sean (2013-08-31). "Nervous Young Man by Car Seat Headrest". The Daily Album. Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
- ↑ "Starving While Living | Car Seat Headrest". Carseatheadrest.bandcamp.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
- ↑ "How To Leave Town | Car Seat Headrest". Carseatheadrest.bandcamp.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
- ↑ "Car Seat Headrest - Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ↑ "FMQB Airplay Archive: SubModern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ↑ Rettig, James (August 14, 2017). "Car Seat Headrest – "War Is Coming (If You Want It)"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ↑ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
External links
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