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 would begin touring as a full band the following year.
History
2010–2014: Lo-fi and solo releases, from 1 to How to Leave Town
Car Seat Headrest began as the solo project of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Will Toledo (born William Barnes) shortly after he graduated high school. Toledo had previously released music under the alias Nervous Young Men, but after struggling to establish an audience, he decided to change tactics, choosing to try and release more experimental songs anonymously. 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.
Throughout the summer of 2010, Toledo released his first four albums under the Car Seat Headrest name: 1, 2, 3, and 4. 1 and 2 incorporated 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, releasing the Sunburned Shirts EP during his first semester. The Sunburned Shirts EP would later be partially combined with his fifth LP, 5, to create his first titled album, My Back Is Killing Me Baby, released in March 2011. Songs culled from 5 would later appear on the b-sides compilation album Little Pieces of Paper with "No" Written on Them.
After a difficult and lonely semester at VCU, Toledo transferred to the College of William & Mary, where he would release his next project, Twin Fantasy, a concept album centered on a relationship he was in at the time. Twin Fantasy would later be followed up by 2012's Monomania and Starving While Living EP.
Around this time, Toledo began performing live shows with fellow students Katie Wood, Austin Ruhf, and Christian Northover, recording and releasing a short live album in July 2013 entitled Live at WCWM: Car Seat Headrest at the university's studio. Toledo would release his next project the following month; a two-hour long double album entitled Nervous Young Man. Three of the songs, and the title of the album, were taken from his original project, Nervous Young Men, but had been heavily reworked and re-recorded. Released alongside Nervous Young Man, for those who paid $5 or more, was the outtakes compilation album Disjecta Membra.
Toledo's final solo release was 2014's How to Leave Town, an hour long EP with heavy electronic instrumentation and more ambitious song structures.
2015–2017: Matador Records, Teens of Style and Teens of Denial
Ethan Ives.
In September 2015, Car Seat Headrest announced on Facebook that he had signed an album deal with Matador Records. 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, their first to not be self-released exclusively via Bandcamp. Shortly after the album's release, Bloom left the group to attend medical school, and was replaced by bassist Ethan Ives.
Ives played bass throughout most of the recordings for the band's following release, but would later switch to guitar and other instruments, with Seth Dalby taking over on bass. Ives and Dalby were later cemented in these positions during live shows and future releases. The new album, created with traditional studio processes, Teens of Denial, was released on May 20, 2016. The album received universal acclaim, and brought the band a new wave of popularity.
In 2017, Car Seat Headrest released an alternate mix of their single, "War Is Coming (If You Want It)" through Bandcamp for one day, with profits going to the Transgender Law Center. The original mix of the track was released ten days later.
On December 13, 2017, the band released a re-recorded version of "Beach Life-In-Death", the second track on Twin Fantasy, through Spotify without prior announcement. This sparked fan rumors that the album would be re-recorded and released the following year. 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. This was followed up by a listing on SRCVinyl.com with the date February 16, 2018.
2018–2019: Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) and Commit Yourself Completely
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 album. 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. On February 15, 2018, the band released a cover of "Fallen Horses" by Smash Mouth, who returned the favor by covering "Something Soon". Around the same time, they began touring with fellow Seattle-based band, Naked Giants, as a part of the group's expanded live lineup.
In August 2018, when asked about new material, Toledo confirmed that he was “demoing out stuff in Ableton,” adding “there might be some stuff that surprises people who only know us as a rock band, but I don’t think it will come as a surprise to people who are checking out all the deep cuts.” In January 2019, Andrew Katz confirmed the band was recording new music through a video uploaded on Instagram.
Following the tease of new music, the band began experimenting with new material at various live shows in December 2018, debuting the tracks "Weightlifters", "Hollywood", "Stop Lying To Me", and "You Know There's Someone Out There", soon followed by "Can't Cool Me Down" in February and March 2019 performances. All were officially released on the next album except for "Stop Lying To Me" and "You Know There's Someone Out There".
On June 12, 2019, Car Seat Headrest announced a new live album titled Commit Yourself Completely, featuring official recordings of performances from the Twin Fantasy tour from 2018. It was released the following week on June 17.
2020–present: Making a Door Less Open
On February 26, 2020, Car Seat Headrest announced their first studio album consisting of wholly new material since 2016's Teens of Denial, Making a Door Less Open. This announcement coincided with the release of "Can't Cool Me Down", the first single and second track off the album, and a release date of May 1, 2020. It marks a stylistic divergence from previous material, Toledo describing the album as containing elements of EDM, hip hop, futurism, doo-wop, soul and rock and roll. Three more singles were released to promote the album between March and April of that year: "Martin", "Hollywood" and "There Must Be More Than Blood". The release also coincided with the introduction of Trait, an alternative persona of Toledo's, featured prominently wearing a modified gas mask with blinking LED lights for eyes. The character had originally been created for the group's "comedic" side project, 1 Trait Danger, featuring Toledo alongside drummer Andrew Katz.
Making a Door Less Open was released with three separate versions across different formats: vinyl, CD and streaming, each with variations in track-list and specific musical elements. The album received a mixed reaction from fans, which pointed out the many divergences from the band's previous works, but received an overall score of 77 on review aggregate site Metacritic. Toledo noted that he and the band were working on a companion album for their latest release, while also looking for ways to improve the Trait mask to incorporate it into live performances.
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." 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." Ian Cohen of Pitchfork also described Toledo's music as "dense, confounding music that most often captures the giddy thrill of having access to recording equipment, of finally put a sound to the voice in your head."
Car Seat Headrest's influences include Radiohead, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Daniel Johnston, Destroyer, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Leonard Cohen, of Montreal, Modest Mouse, Neutral Milk Hotel, Sufjan Stevens, Swans, They Might Be Giants, Why?, R.E.M., the Who, Nirvana, the Blackout, Neil Diamond, William Onyeabor, the Clash, the Cars, James Brown, DEVO, Queen, Rod Stewart, and Green Day.
Death At The Movies
Car Seat Headrest Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the womb of the theater to the light of day
But you've got something to think about on the ride home
And you've got something to talk about if you're not alone
Outside the walls I hear sirens
Fade to black, dramatic irony
Before my eyes, after the previews
So I'm alive in the final act
The spirits did it all in an hour and a half
Turn off my brain, suspend my disbelief
There's a beautiful score I'll never hear
When my vision blurs it rings in my ears
I must be saved
I must be saved before the end
There's a wonderful line I can't remember
I can't rewind so I better remember
Must be saved
I must be saved before the end
The hero stands up and the blood rushes out of his head
But you can still see him breathing after he's dead
And after the soul is gone, his body's back to himself
You'll say "Oh, who is he? I seen him in something else"
And so I pray to the movie screen
That I'll be shown something I've never seen
A revelation, I can sense it
But this part don't make any sense yet
If heaven is a film that never ends
And all the characters are my friends
Or is that what we call a tv show
Or is that the real life that we're living now
There's a beautiful score I'll never hear
When my vision blurs it rings in my ears
I must be saved
I must be saved before the end
There's a wonderful line I can't remember
I can't rewind so I better remember
Must be saved
I must be saved before the end
Everyone left the theater
Could've been better, had such potential
The song “Death at the Movies” by Car Seat Headrest is a reflective piece on the power of movies and the emotional impact they can have on an individual. The lyrics speak about leaving the theater after watching a movie and how it can be difficult to adjust back to reality after being transported into a different world. The singer in the song has something to think and talk about on the ride home, which shows how the movie has affected them.
The song also touches upon the idea of life being like a movie. The singer prays to the movie screen, hoping for a revelation or something they’ve never seen before. This could represent an individual’s search for meaning and purpose in life. The mention of a beautiful score the singer will never hear, and a wonderful line they can’t remember, speaks to the emotional impact of movies and how they can leave a lasting impression.
The line “must be saved” that is repeated throughout the song could have multiple interpretations. It could refer to the singer wanting to be saved from the mundane reality of their life, or saved from their own thoughts and emotions that movies have stirred up. Overall, the song highlights the power of movies to impact the human psyche, and the search for deeper meaning and excitement in life.
Line by Line Meaning
It's hard to adjust your eyes after the matinee
It takes time for your eyes to adapt to the real world after being inside the theater.
From the womb of the theater to the light of day
Leaving the familiar darkness of the theater into the brightness of the outside world.
But you've got something to think about on the ride home
The movie has left an impact, making the viewer think even after leaving the theater.
And you've got something to talk about if you're not alone
The movie has given the viewer something to discuss with others who have also seen it.
Outside the walls I hear sirens
The real world outside the theater has its own problems such as emergency services rushing to a scene.
Fade to black, dramatic irony
The movie has ended with a traditional fade to black that brings attention to the irony of the situation.
Before my eyes, after the previews
The movie has begun after the short previews that played before it.
I can relate, you do what we do
The viewer can identify with the characters in the movie and empathizes with their experiences.
So I'm alive in the final act
The movie has brought the viewer to life with the intensity of the final act.
The spirits did it all in an hour and a half
The characters in the movie went through dramatic experiences, all within the duration of the movie.
Turn off my brain, suspend my disbelief
The viewer is able to forget about the real world and completely believe in the story of the movie.
There's a beautiful score I'll never hear
The music in the movie was moving but the viewer may never again hear the score in the same way.
When my vision blurs it rings in my ears
The viewer's emotions from the movie carry on even after leaving the theater.
I must be saved
The viewer wants to be saved from life's mundane experiences and find something exceptional in the movies.
I must be saved before the end
The viewer wants to find a resolution or satisfaction within the movie before it ends.
There's a wonderful line I can't remember
There was a memorable quote from the movie that the viewer cannot recall at the moment.
I can't rewind so I better remember
The viewer cannot watch the movie again at that moment but wants to remember the parts they enjoyed.
The hero stands up and the blood rushes out of his head
The hero has come to the end of his journey and meets a violent end.
But you can still see him breathing after he's dead
There is a sense of disbelief or confusion about whether the hero might actually come back to life.
And after the soul is gone, his body's back to himself
Even though the hero has died, his body remains and there is still a feeling of attachment or familiarity to the character.
You'll say "Oh, who is he? I seen him in something else"
The viewer may recognize the actor playing the hero and associate them with other movies they've seen.
And so I pray to the movie screen
The viewer has a deep admiration for the movie and feels like the screen is their connection to the story.
That I'll be shown something I've never seen
The viewer wants to be taken on a journey that is unique and different from anything they've seen before.
A revelation, I can sense it
The viewer feels like there is something profound they can discover within the movie.
But this part don't make any sense yet
The viewer is confused or frustrated by a particular part of the movie that doesn't fit in with the story.
If heaven is a film that never ends
The viewer poses a philosophical question about whether heaven is a place like a movie that never ends.
And all the characters are my friends
The viewer feels like they have built a connection with the characters in the movie and consider them to be friends.
Or is that what we call a tv show
The viewer is wondering if the feeling of connection they experience with TV show characters is similar to that of movie characters.
Or is that the real life that we're living now
The viewer is questioning whether their own life could be like a movie or TV show in the way it unfolds.
Everyone left the theater
The movie has ended and the other viewers have already departed.
Could've been better, had such potential
The viewer is disappointed that the movie could have been better based on their initial expectations.
Contributed by Joseph N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
adrian montecello
on sun hot
Sun, get me hot
Sun, get me hot
Sun, get me hot (Sun, get me high)
Sun, get me hot (Sun, get me hot)
Sun, get me hot (Sun, get me high)
Sun, get me hot (Sun, get me hot)
Sun, get me hot
Sun going down
Ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Sun hot, sun
Sun hot, sun
Sun hot, sun
Sun hot, sun
adrian montecello
on beach weak
Did you want to see me?
You didn't want to see me
Did you, old friend, I can you hear you stealing
Loving in the locker room
It's a careless mistake
How many people can fit into a room?
When you stop drinking everything
Just starts to not invite me to your party
Lock the door on me
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
Did you ask me anything?
I didn't ask you anything
Think I understand just what's pretending to
Not ignore me
Sitting at your amber dresser
Letter with an extra letter in my name
And we've known each other for far too long
To be losing punctuation on this alcohol
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
(See you there, see you there, see you there, Will)
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
(See you there, see you there, Will)
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
Did you want to see me?
You didn't want to see me
Did you, old friend, old friend, I can
Hardly remember all the times we slaved
Over our friendship
We had a share of hard times
Sign my yearbook, I don't wanna be in any more
Debt to Mister Ray-Bans you didn't even like when you were in them
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
And I hope you have a good time, hope you have a good time when you're there
Did you ask me anything?
I didn't ask you anything
Think I understand just what's pretending to-
Yes?
Um, I need to go out for a while and get the van
Sounds great
[?] and then I'm gonna go grocery shopping, so I should be back by 1:40. Have you eaten anything today?
No
No?
Just forgot
adrian montecello
on sun hot
posted the lyrics to the wrong song haha i have no idea how this site works
adrian montecello
on sun hot
Did you want to see me?
You didn't want to see me
Did you, old friend, I can you hear you stealing
Loving in the locker room
It's a careless mistake
How many people can fit into a room?
When you stop drinking everything
Just starts to not invite me to your party
Lock the door on me
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
Did you ask me anything?
I didn't ask you anything
Think I understand just what's pretending to
Not ignore me
Sitting at your amber dresser
Letter with an extra letter in my name
And we've known each other for far too long
To be losing punctuation on this alcohol
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
(See you there, see you there, see you there, Will)
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
(See you there, see you there, Will)
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
Did you want to see me?
You didn't want to see me
Did you, old friend, old friend, I can
Hardly remember all the times we slaved
Over our friendship
We had a share of hard times
Sign my yearbook, I don't wanna be in any more
Debt to Mister Ray-Bans you didn't even like when you were in them
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
See you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I'll see you there, yes I will
And I hope you have a good time, hope you have a good time when you're there
Did you ask me anything?
I didn't ask you anything
Think I understand just what's pretending to-
Yes?
Um, I need to go out for a while and get the van
Sounds great
[?] and then I'm gonna go grocery shopping, so I should be back by 1:40. Have you eaten anything today?
No
No?
Just forgot