Car Seat Headrest “How To Leave Town” – Emerging band to watch out for..

My latest discovery came to me yesterday in the form of a recommendation, one that I have been listening to for a large and pleasurable portion of today.

Recently signed, Car Seat Headrest are a Seattle-based band whose latest release ‘How To Leave Town’ came out in October last year.

Their music is understated and doesn’t demand attention, it gracefully asks and if you are willing to accept, you shall surely be rewarded.

Their music has been intricately shaped for over four years and, 11 releases later, has attracted an expanding and devoted fan base.

Fronted by Will Toledo whose lyrical content is both honest and intimate, their songs reflect heartfelt narratives of love, youth, depression and hope.  It is easy to lose yourself amidst this epic, experimental and free flowing sound where the insightful inner monologues of Tuledo are shared, this is what connects and this is what relates the music to its listener.

“I co-write the songs with myself/ He feels the feelings, I write the words.” This is how Will Toledo describes the artistic process of Car Seat Headrest and this is what has always driven his songwriting, the desire to express himself.  Opening track, ‘The Ending of Dramamine’ entices us into this 14 minute song with a lengthy intro that mesmerizes, with Toledo asking about “the way you see me” and questioning “Do you hate yourself, I don’t hate myself, I tolerate myself, I wish I was someone else”..

Lyrically it is easy to get lost inside the vulnerable world of Car Seat Headrest, whilst musically the amalgamation of minimalist, lo-fi synth-pop all of it’s distorted guitar and experimentation will make you want to play the whole album from start to finish without pause, there is no other way to get into the minds of this new and emerging band and no better way to let them into you yours.

Listen to their latest release “How To Leave Town” here and be sure to watch that space for more to come, for their surely will be