“Their music isn’t bad so much as it is thoroughly bland & lifeless to the extent it becomes criminal. Their most successful moments rely entirely on pastiche. If you walk into any house show in America with a handful of rocks, by the second or third throw you’ll have hit a boy with a Bandcamp that sounds exactly like them. (…)
Much like his music & lyrics, Toledo’s public persona exists in between dull platitudes and esoteric name-dropping. This consistent lack of personality might actually be the most sincere thing about him & his band. (…)
Car Seat Headrest not only fails to reinvent the wheel, they somehow make it roll shittier. I don’t think I’ve wanted to listen to The Who since I was eleven, but hearing Pollard try to convince us he’s Roger Daltrey has a certain charm. Hearing Toledo try to channel Pollard parroting Daltrey is like photocopying Xerox Art. (…)
Have you ever wished more music could make you feel the same way dogs feel when their owners go out grocery shopping and leave NPR running in an attempt to keep them calm?
Have you ever longed for the musical equivalent of ‘falling asleep to David Letterman on a really low volume’?
It’s like you can hear him forgetting his own songs as he’s recording them.”
(Sam Ray von Ricky Eat Acid bzw. Teen Suicide über Car Seat Headrest in Medium)
Car Seat Headrest waren mit “Something Soon” in unseren Jahres Top 10 2015, übrigens: