Five years in the making, one man band Will Toledo’s latest venture as Car Seat Headrest is his fourth album for the prestigious Matador Records label and second of new material since 2016’s Teens Of Denial. Fleshed out by fellow bandmates Andrew Katz (drums), Ethan Ives (guitar) and Seth Dalby (bass) Making A Door Less Open continues to reinforce the perception of the 26 year old Toledo as the two headed millennial love child of middle aged Gen X indie rockers Mark Oliver Everett of The Eels (57 years young) and Beck Hansen (rock’s “other” Beck) who turns 50 later this year. Toledo has seen fit to release his latest album in three slightly different versions, an 11 track digital edition, a 12 track CD with two bonus tracks and a 10 track LP. Sounding mature and confident, Toledo’s Making A Door Less Open tones down the low-fi nature of some of his earlier recordings in favour of a polished and slightly more grown up approach. As an up and coming emerging artist Car Seat Headrest’s trajectory remains securely on course with the release of Making A Door Less Open which is sure to please existing fans while making some new ones along the way.
7/10
2020 Song Of The Day Club
Bi-Weekly Record Review 6/26