It’s Car Seat Headrest’s first album on Matador Records called Teens of Denial that was released just last year. It’s a compilation album that’s pulled songs from the band’s twelve albums that were self-released on Bandcamp starting back in 2010. It’s an album that the twenty five year-old founder and frontman, Will Toledo, hopes will not fade over time as music sometimes can, but instead will continue to stay relevant. It’s a mature way of thinking for Toledo, whose vibe since forever has been very DIY-focused when it came to making music. But, the good news is that Car Seat Headrest is no longer recording music in the back of a car (even though it’s a process that’s probably missed). The band now tours the world and continues to top all the charts with their songs that are angsty, emotionally complicated in the most endearing way, and so honest that it sometimes stings.
There’s also such an innocence about Toledo and the way he plays without expectation of anything more than the thrilling, personal experience of it. He just wanted to write music that showcased what was going on in his life. “Getting discovered” seemed more like a happy accident than it ever was a serious focus, and now Car Seat Headrest is one of the top indie bands around. If only we could all do what we really love without feeling the pressure of what’s next to come, maybe we’d all have better luck in life like Will Toledo.
And so the songs continue on–delivering truths and revelations that are raw and vulnerable like in the song “Times to Die” when he sings, “All of my friends are getting married. All my friends are right with God. All of my friends are making money. But art gets what it wants, and art gets what it deserves.” It does. Doesn’t it?
Webster Hall
6/2
$25
10:30 p.m.
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