By Monica Pizzo
Car Seat Headrest is a one-man band that creates what I like to call “grown-up angst” music. His lo-fi tunes are on the Mac Demarco side of indie, the same amount of moodiness without quite as much synth.
Singer, musician and songwriter Will Toledo learned about music theory in his teen years in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he grew up. According to Spotify, he listened to bands such as Radiohead, Animal Collective, Swans and R.E.M. which gave him his eclectic style.
He began making music using his laptop and continues to use simpler recording mechanisms. This gives his music the lo-fi quality that is essential in his indie, bordering on shoegazing sound.
He became known as Car Seat Headrest when he began to record vocals in his car, rather than his home setup. Although he did have a team of musicians at his shows around Virginia, most of his music was recorded and cut in his home.
In 2010, he released his first album as Car Seat Headrest, titled 1. His albums 2, 3 and 4 all followed within the next few months. He released My Back is Killing Me Baby in 2011, with Twin Fantasy following closely after.
He released two more albums in 2012, titled Monomania and Starving While Living. The following year brought Nervous Young Man. After this album, he moved from his home in Virginia to Seattle, where he wrote and released How to Leave Town.
This album in particular gained Toledo great attention, which led him to sign with Matador Records in 2015, where he released Teens of Style.
Continuing this trend of releasing large amounts of music, he released Teens of Denial in May 2016, just seven months after his previous album. His most recent release was a single called “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales,” an upbeat song that sounds like a classic summer tune.
Unlike a lot of artists today, Car Seat Headrest writes and releases songs that are quite lengthy, ranging from six to 15 minutes. He also uses unusual song titles such as “Unforgiving Girl (She’s Not An)” and “(Joe Gets Kicked out of School for Doing) Drugs With Friends (But Says This Isn’t A Problem).”
His buzzy, almost whiny sound gives him a very relaxing vibe, making his music the best to listen to while driving on a hazy night, having a beach day or just bundling up at home. His music takes you back to a place of comfort, which we all need sometimes.
Get a cup of tea, or just relax and click here to experience his hazy sound.
Featured Photo Credit: Feature photo courtesy of Car Seat Headrest on Facebook.
Monica Pizzo is a freshman journalism major and can be reached at mpizzo@terpmail.umd.edu.
