Making A Door Less Open
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LP / Format
Matador / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
It reaches depths previously unseen—inspired, according to Will Toledo, by the genre-transcendent nature of living in the internet age. The new album is a masterclass in mixing influences seamlessly.
11mo
90
Car Seat Headrest push their lo-fi signature into newly polished (and labyrinthine) space on Making a Door Less Open. The result is a glittering look at our everyday fantasies, our patterns of style and denial.
9mo
85
Toledo has always been a lovably jaded ringleader, and Making A Door Less Open continues to dwell on his self-criticism and feelings of redundancy. What makes it a continuously compelling listen is how each song manages to use different sonic approaches to extract a new shade of his despondency.
11mo
80
Overflowing with adventurous new ideas, the album has opened up seemingly infinite new paths for Toledo to follow going forward.
11mo
80
Will this collection alienate meat-and-potatoes fans, as that knowing album title suggests? Perhaps – but it’s unlikely the band will care. Far from experiencing growing pains, Car Seat seem to have had a lot of fun here.
11mo
80
While Making a Door Less Open feels more mature and commercial than previous releases, it also feels like the next step on a trajectory as Toledo balances the control of solo work against the chaos, and responsibilities, of a band.
11mo
80
One hopes Will Toledo is more content when Car Seat Headrest next goes into the studio, but that he's also just as good and as honest as he is on Making a Door Less Open.
11mo
80
A weird and wonderful new offering, if you can't shake shit up for your 12th studio album, when can you, eh?
11mo
80
Making A Door Less Open has actually worked in the opposite direction to its title, opening the band to any direction that it chooses going forward. This kind of obvious talent, this type of restless creativity, will continue to evolve and blossom, often in directions that defy both convention and predictability.
11mo
80
Records like this make me excited for an artist’s future. It displays they are willing to interrogate themselves and their ways, and that there is more change to come. I commend Toledo for going against his own grain and pushing boundaries. Making A Door Less Open is a great record that I believe, in time, will act as a transitional artifact.
11mo
80
Experimentation and drive have clearly been key here. Hats off to Will Toledo and co for swimming in new oceans when, with talent like theirs, they could have trod water for years and still been better than most.
10mo
80
Stretching his creative wings has worked for Toledo; there's a sense of him pushing outward as well as forward, even as he questions the point of it all.
Print Only
9mo
80
Without ironing out his early-Beck-ish quirks, MADLO's higher-fi moves demand wider attention.
9mo
75
The indiscriminate approach makes for a disorienting listen and a scattershot presentation makes it feel like less of a holistic artistic statement than the band’s previous albums. However, it is exciting to see the band going in a bold new direction, and there are plenty of strong tracks here.
11mo
75
An interesting bunt that adds color and flavor to an intriguing sound, Making a Door Less Open is a classic transitional album, which they may double back from and they may double down on; frankly, either result will be more exciting.
11mo
70
Will Toledo has a special talent, creating engaging narratives that provide a unique perspective to the human experience. Not every venture into new genres is a success, but this is the product of a thoroughly meticulous mind, constantly tinkering with song structure and new ideas.
11mo
70
Making a Door Less Open ultimately sounds like an entertaining experiment, a test of Car Seat Headrest's malleability and potential for new directions.
11mo
70
With all of the grand but empty ambitions, stylistic question marks, and underwritten but solid songs, Car Seat Headrest is still too smart, too catchy, too excellent to make this album worth shrugging off completely. At the soul of this occasionally soulless album, Toledo’s longing, emptiness, and hope still rings true.
11mo
70
Even when Making a Door Less Open gets a little clunky, it remains compelling.
11mo
70
Across the record, Car Seat Headrest find a way to grow further into their potential as a bonafide ‘big’ rock band. It’s heartening that they’ve been able to do it by leaning further into what makes them a stranger prospect than most.
10mo
70
It feels more like a bedroom project than their recent full-band work, yet Toledo's knack for an irresistible chorus endures.
9mo
66
Making a Door Less Open would inevitably benefit from a willingness to risk spectacular failure.
11mo
60
There’s something scattered and awkward about its grafting together of ideas that don’t gel; the sound of a band who have outgrown their initial incarnation but aren’t quite sure what they want now.
11mo
60
Making a Door Less Open isn’t as memorable as its predecessors on its own: Toledo’s vision as a whole never feels truly fleshed out, representing the first legitimate misfire in the career of one of this generation’s most talented indie-rock songwriters.
11mo
60
They offer up an attractive fusion of melody and groove, with Toledo’s smart, self-probing lyrics set against a taut mix of atmospheric electronica and treated guitars over mechanised beats.
11mo
60
The indie maverick is a purveyor of all styles on his studiously eclectic 12th album.
11mo
60
This is a mixed bag, and is – unfortunately – a bit of a momentum killer.
11mo
60
This is far from a perfect record, and will likely leave some listeners disappointed ... But there’s a difference between disappointment and disgust. Even the moments that don’t work perfectly are inflected with the kind of Toledoisms you really can’t get anywhere else.
11mo
60
The finished project is a departure from the guitar-dominated albums of CSH past, more space instead being given to synths and drum machines to provide the backing for Toledo’s consistently witty and observational lyricism.
8mo
50
Car Seat Headrest's latest album is an unfortunate case of untapped potential.
11mo
50
Making a Door Less Open goes out of its way to obscure the notion of Car Seat Headrest as a manifestation of Toledo’s life and emotions.
11mo
Don't worry Pitchfork. Your indie darlings aren't dead just yet.
I don't really have a lot to say on Car Seat Headrest, weirdly enough. While I admittedly haven't had the chance to listen much the the pre-label records Car Seat Headrest have put out on Bandcamp (due to pure laziness on my part honestly), I've always been fascinated by this group. The last two records Will Toledo has put out have obviously been two of the greatest and influential rock records of the 2010s, with Twin Fantasy ... read more
I don't really have a lot to say on Car Seat Headrest, weirdly enough. While I admittedly haven't had the chance to listen much the the pre-label records Car Seat Headrest have put out on Bandcamp (due to pure laziness on my part honestly), I've always been fascinated by this group. The last two records Will Toledo has put out have obviously been two of the greatest and influential rock records of the 2010s, with Twin Fantasy ... read more
underneath a synth-pop mask,
will toledo helps reinvent CSH’s sound and cement their uniqueness.
will toledo helps reinvent CSH’s sound and cement their uniqueness.
its good okay its fucking good shut up its good i swear to god it's a good album alright
The dreaded moment.
This is the moment when we will have to take risks, when we will have to get out of our comfort zone. That moment when an artist we have long appreciated, and whose work is really dear to us on AOTY, even essential to our lives, throws everything overboard, and sets out again in a completely different direction. This moment when the fan in us admires the courage of the artist, but still regrets a little/a lot/passionately the unequalled sensations of yesteryear.
Will ... read more
This is the moment when we will have to take risks, when we will have to get out of our comfort zone. That moment when an artist we have long appreciated, and whose work is really dear to us on AOTY, even essential to our lives, throws everything overboard, and sets out again in a completely different direction. This moment when the fan in us admires the courage of the artist, but still regrets a little/a lot/passionately the unequalled sensations of yesteryear.
Will ... read more
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Track List
- Weightlifters
- Can't Cool Me Down
- Deadlines (Hostile)
- Hollywood
- Hymn (Remix)
- Martin
- Deadlines (Thoughtful)
- What's with You Lately
- Life Worth Missing
- There Must Be More than Blood
- Famous
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4mo
I hate the reviews here pretending that people are saying that this album's bad because it's more electric or something, when really it's because it fucking sucks. The writing, the sound, the pacing - this is genuinely a BAD album, even if Can't Cool Me Down and There Must Be More than Blood are stand-out tracks. This isn't even the most electronic CSH have been, listen to How to Leave Town or something
4mo
Now that the dust has settled, can we acknowledge the fact that this is better than the original Twin Fantasy thanks.
7mo
weightlifters is one of the best openers to any album and if you think otherwise you're wrong and you owe me an apology
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Added on: February 26, 2020