by Horton Richard

Twin Fantasy by Car Seat Headrest (at its inception consisting of just one member, Will Toledo) is one of the most legendary indie rock albums of the past decade. Originally released on Bandcamp in 2011, the album was originally downloaded by around 100 people. The likely cause for this lack of initial acclaim is that in its original form (now known as Twin Fantasy - Mirror to Mirror), the audio sounded like it was being recorded through a microwave oven. This low fidelity recording wasn’t Toledo’s fault - he was quite literally writing and recording out of his car on an old laptop (hence the name, Car Seat Headrest). However, in spite of the album’s exceptionally raw and grungy sound, it was still full of poignant lyrics, which allowed it to garner an online cult following, and was rereleased in 2018 with an evolved moniker: Twin Fantasy (Face to Face). This perfected remaster was greeted by immediate critical acclaim and widespread recognition, and is largely considered to be Toledo’s magnum opus. 

So what the hell does one do while they’re waiting to put out their masterpiece? In 2015 Toledo signed an album deal with Matador Records, and in spite of the lo-fi recording, Twin Fantasy was still a fan favorite. According to the man himself, it had the chance to be a perfect album, as the record had been in Toledo’s head almost since he first released it. Once he had the resources of a proper record label, it was surely the only thing on his mind. And yet he released two albums with Matador Records before creating his crowning achievement. Why? Well, his album deal didn’t give him unrestrained freedom - he would have to put out some significant work in order to get the creative liberty he needed. Thus, Toledo set to work creating a masterpiece so that he might be allowed to perfect his monumental work.

Here enters the true topic of discussion: their 2016 album, Teens of Denial. After all, there are countless reviews of Twin Fantasy, you can find one of those to read anywhere. By contrast, Car Seat Headrest’s 2016 album Teens of Denial is not their most famous piece, but a truly great work of art, and absolutely worth your attention. In particular, if you just so happen to be an overworked, stressed-out, depressed college student, this record will resonate with you. 

            Those  familiar with Twin Fantasy will no doubt remember the album’s amazing, tone setting opener, My Boy.Teens of Denial keeps up that trend with it’s first track, Fill in the Blank. Filled with an infectious, rocking sound, it’s hard not to get into;  the track touches on such “light-hearted” themes as being overwhelmed by depression and a desire for death, and being so sick of… “fill in the blank”. The open-endedness of the problem itself renders the track all the more powerful.  This opening song sets the pace of the entire experience quite succinctly. The most hard hitting chord of Fill in the Blank is the denial of suffering by those around Toledo: “You have no right to be depressed, you haven’t tried hard enough to fight it”. This sentiment isn’t really a helpful thing to say to someone going through depressive episodes. Nonetheless, it’s a mindset that I’ve certainly heard echoed often in my own life. 

The album continues with its relatable, depressed, rock-and-roll musings for the next couple of songs. Vincent picks up focusing on the simple sentiment of wanting to go home, and mentally feeling like a horrible cacophony half the time. As a college student, it’s hard to not relate to the very first full phrase of the song - after all, “for the past [month, we’ve] been living in a town that gets a lot of tourists,” a constant invasion of the privacy and constancy we might be accustomed to at home. In my own experience, a high school friend slept on the floor of my dorm for nearly a week, much to my chagrin and the annoyance of my roommate.

The album goes on, and as it progresses, delves into the realm of the chemical, focusing on addiction and experiences with drugs and alcohol. Drugs with Friends being a harsh critique of the casual substance abuse problems of our times. Of course there’s nothing wrong with a little fun on the weekend.  Still, how often does that so-called reprieve end in having to hold a friend’s hair back as they spew whatever’s in their head to whoever will listen, and whatever’s in their stomach into a Glad extra-large trash bag - or being the one doing the spewing, and whatever the case followed by a terrible hangover in the morning. Up next, Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales (the most popular song on the album) tells the tale of someone who has a real problem. Toledo presents an incisive view on the inside happenings of a drunk driver - of someone who’s “only trying to get home.” The result is a deeply tragic petition to stop with behavior that just isn’t alright, a work that truly strikes to the core and evokes a genuine pity.

Of course no album is perfect (aside from maybe In Rainbows by Radiohead but that’s another review entirely), and Teens of Denial is no exception. There’s an undeniable lull in the second half, but in spite of this, there are also some notable hits in this latter part of the album, such as the weightless yet punctuated Cosmic Hero. It presents a list of critiques in two parts and develops a view of a deeply flawed mental state in which one can’t find a middle ground between simply bearing their suffering and taking drastic, over the top measures full of harsh, unfair judgement both of the self and of others.

This song flows quite nicely into the next, The Battle for Costa Concordia, which is a building volcano of a lamentation, filled with regret, which concludes in an explosive climax of fear, anger, and denial of self. These songs are certainly a buoy for the album as it approaches its conclusion, but the rest of the songs in the second half struggle to even approach being as interesting or compelling as the material of the opening. They are still quite good, but they simply have a hard time measuring up. Finally, the album concludes with the slow and contemplative Joe Goes to School, the name of which suggests a sort of reversal to Drugs with Friends, but which has far less straightforward lyrical meaning - but I’ll let the reader grapple with that on their own. On this note the album sadly fades to conclusion, leaving the listener alone with their thoughts.

And so was Teens of Denial created and released to critical acclaim, closely followed by Twin Fantasy (Face to Face).  Even if Toledo’s masterstroke is the only album of his that many give any attention to, Teens of Denial is nonetheless a genuine work of art, as well as a significant piece for those our age in particular. The record is full of blocky grunge beats that it’s hard to get out of your head, and the prevalent themes of deep sadness, and the use of meaningless pleasures to try and fill that void are hard not to relate to, particularly during this formative and often confusing time in our lives. If you’ve given Twin Fantasy a listen in the past and you were a fan of that, or if you’ve never heard it before and this review has sparked your interest in the music of Car Seat Headrest, I strongly encourage you to listen to and enjoy the earworm tunes and the melancholic themes of Teens of Denial.