i think part of my cooling on this record comes from lvl up releasing a better record in the same lane afterwards
i think of those records in pretty separate realms, tbh. i mean they're both indie rock records but i feel they're directed at very different approaches
Car Seat Headrest on Kanye West: 'It's the Latest Example of...People Not Listening Enough to the Other Side' new version of drunk drivers coming soon
the single version of drunk drivers has apparently been up on streaming for a week now basically the same rendition as he did on fallon Car Seat Headrest - Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales (Single Version)
i don't like it close to as much as the album version but it's not bad, haha. the album version is just magical
Got it yesterday on my local shops Boxing Day sale, can't wait to sit down with his lyrics Easily one of the best records in recent memory, one of few that deserves the excessive praise it gets imo
I enjoy listening to this a ton, but I still think it's crazy the level of praise this gets. I essentially think if you went back in time and put Car Seat in the 90s, indie rock would be exactly the same -- the wheel has not been reinvented. I love this and everything but it seems like the praise this gets critically is a result of weird nostalgia for a time a lot of people didn't live in. Which is fine, it's not like it's hurting anyone or anything, I just feel like it's a disconnect that should be addressed ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
i mean the reason why this record was so big is because the critical music world was missing a big classic sounding dude led indie rock band, and this is the band who put out the best record who would fill that gap. it's less of pushing forward and more of trying to hold onto what these indie publications used to grab hold to, especially in a year where the most critically acclaimed records moved far outside the norms of what these publications used to write about and champion
that's part of my point though. This is well written indie rock, no question -- but does indie rock really need another classicist approach to it? It's not like there's any shortage of white dude led 90s worship, anyway; like someone said, Lvl Up also did a record like this and I think they're comparable. But Lvl Up is still doing interesting things with indie rock, like injecting a healthy pop element in a way that's more overt than a lot of the bands from that 90s era (with the exception of Built to Spill), and grabbing songwriting elements from other genres to strengthen that approach they take. Meanwhile, Car Seat is getting praise for the throwback sound, while the last few years have been rife with these same publications asking "is indie rock dead? Why isn't it interesting anymore?" Etc etc. Not to mention, a lot of these pubs have rightly pointed out that other, less guitar driven genres are still fresh and interesting because they put a premium on progression and stylistic shifts. Indie rock does not do that often, which is why people complain it gets stale, but still cheer when someone is performing that sounds like Pavement and also why emo has gotten a bunch of new attention in recent years. It's just weird to want it both ways. Also, I don't think this shouldn't be praised, I just think it's getting praised for the wrong things. This album does LOTS of interesting things that indie rock is no longer self conscious about. The little post modern flairs are very cool, not seen very often outside of concept albums, like copping the vocal melody to White Flag, deconstructing some indie tropes, the general usage of intertextual communication -- that's really cool stuff that could get talked about more.