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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
This is no stop-gap, contract filler of a record but rather a perfectionist giving a great album the full workout it deserved.
100
With the new Twin Fantasy, Toledo has done the unimaginable: created a reboot that matches its original in tone, passion, and excitement.
95
It’s an album of dizzying highs and crushing lows, full of triumphant moments that seem built for a grand, Phil Spector wall of sound that Toledo previously had no access to.
91
Companion piece or full-on replacement, it matters not. Do yourself a favor and listen to the album you should have listened to seven years ago.
91
Rock music has a bad habit of looking backwards, and the same can be said of Car Seat Headrest’s Twin Fantasy. But this album flips that rearview gaze on its head, suggesting that the past may well contain new and exciting paths forward. It’s a neat inversion that yields some of the most thrillingly ambitious indie rock compositions of this decade, though one that occasionally exhausts the listener into submission.
90
Thanks to the fact that Car Seat Headrest is now a band rather than a solo recording project, there’s more spit and polish to the songs, a level of gloss that Twin Fantasy really benefits from.
90
The age-old saying goes if something isn't broken, don't fix it, but the re-release of Twin Fantasy shows that, seven years later, Car Seat Headrest are capable of re-contextualizing their work in ways that cement the faith that we have in them as revolutionary musicians.
90
The new release of Twin Fantasy never panders to the original. Nor does it feel like Toledo is forced to adhere to the limitations of his previous work. It’s a development, not a remake; the full realisation of what was always supposed to be - and it sounds all the more incredible for it.
86
Will Toledo’s re-recorded version of an album originally released in 2011 speaks to his greatest gifts as a songwriter: wit, cynicism, and an eye for detail that captures teenaged desire and heartache.
80
Car Seat Headrest is without a doubt a fantastically talented and emotive band that revolves around the no-shits-given honesty of Will Toledo’s lyrics and his ability to craft songs that explore the full range of human emotion and musical possibility.
80
In theory, a Twin Fantasy redo seemed unnecessary and pompous, a misguided detour in service of soothing an artist’s ego over past shortcomings. In execution, it’s as vital as anything released yet this year.
80
Now that Toledo has given it the sound that he always wanted, he has created an album that will deserve even more exposure than it is currently getting.
80
Car Seat Headrest's remake of its Bandcamp classic Twin Fantasy is an improvement on all fronts.
80
Car Seat Headrest’s newest release, ‘Twin Fantasy’ exudes angst, melancholy and carefully twists the mundane into thoughtfully beautiful lyrics. This visionary collection is a true labour of love by the American band, after being re-recorded and re-imagined.
80
There are times when the less charitable might be inclined to shout at Toledo to pull himself together, but Car Seat Headrest increasingly feel like a significant band, and Toledo like an unusual and compelling voice.
80
The arrangements are tighter and better executed, the audio is strong enough to suit the music and its dynamics, and Toledo's performances are more measured but also more nuanced, as if he has a better understanding of this story from a distance of a few yeqars. Either way, Twin Fantasy leaves no doubt that Toledo is a strikingly gifted and thoughtful songwriter who also has a firm grasp of how to make his material work in the studio, and isn't afraid to think on a grand scale.
80
But to new(er) fans, Face to Face will satisfy the itch engendered by the gestation period between those two records and remind that Denial wasn’t Car Seat Headrest’s first sprawling opus.
80
The conventional wisdom would be that a comparatively hi-fi re-run of ‘Twin Fantasy’ would rob it of much of its charm, but this redux is hardly an exercise in polish; Toledo’s vocals remain unvarnished, and the instrumentation remains cluttered and imperfect to the point of feeling chaotic. The result, really, is somewhere close to how a ‘Twin Fantasy’ live album might have turned out sounding.
80
Indulgent? Possibly, but it works, because this record – even the longest tracks – is punchy, witty and razor sharp.
80
As well-realized as the original Twin Fantasy was, and as much as it's defined by a specific period in its creator's life, it's obvious that Toledo sees the project as a fluid work.
76
The results of Toledo’s re-imagination add up to enough to make this feel like more than just a perfectionist’s pursuit.
70
Though some longtime fans may feel as though some of the imperfections that adorned Toledo’s original DIY bedroom release are lost in translation in this gorgeously polished release, in its new iteration Twin Fantasy is a deeply moving statement from one of indie rock’s freshest young voices.
70
Though it often overstays its welcome, with a handful of tracks pushing beyond the 15-minute mark, ‘Twin Fantasy’ is an ideal starting point for any latent Will Toledo fan.
40
Instead of building off the buzz and promise of Teens of Style and Teens of Denial, that show a marked development in songwriting, Car Seat Headrest decided to release a bit of revisionist history showing off the band's potential but also its shortcomings.
Stop scrolling and read this.
I’m struggling not to cry, and I’m in a crazy whirlwind of thoughts right now. I am bisexual. I’ve known that I’m bisexual for a while, but haven’t had the courage to tell people about it, especially not in real life. Like I’ve said in my In Rainbows review, I’ve always felt like I’ve never been accepted. I could play sports and stuff just like the rest. I could make good grades, just like the rest. But all ... read more
EDIT: I have a theory about those who love music to the degree most of us on this site do. This applies to all mediums of art, but for the sake of clarity, I’ll be using music terms. Anyways, I believe that a person will find maybe three to five albums in their lifetime that can truly be considered, for lack of a better word, life-changing. This kind of record isn’t just something you listen to and enjoy to death track for track, isn’t just a masterpiece, isn’t just a ... read more
Full review on my YouTube channel @brad taste in music
I didn’t know this had a previous version. Without seeing the other version though, I find this one to be remarkably well recorded and ambitious to the core. Lyrically it is ambiguous and reflective.
I loved it, great record. I only have given it a few listens so I may need more. Definitely front runner for AOTY
(Edit) original score is 87, then 91. This album keeps growing. I have heard the original and I think it is also ... read more
this album made me cry, it’s raw emotion is perfect and so fucking well done. the guitar on this album is so fucking impactful, will toledo’s vocals are so uniquely impactful
Mi primera vez escuchando el álbum entero y tengo mucho que decir pero pocas palabras.
Twin Fantasy es un álbum conceptual que habla sobre una relación amorosa entre dos adolescentes perdidos tanto en la vida como en su propia relación. Tanto el narrador como su pareja tienen actitudes tóxicas hacia el otro y hacia uno mismo, haciendo de la relación una fantasía donde quieren ser uno solo pero donde, a su vez, se hacen daño con las ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | My Boy (Twin Fantasy) 2:52 | 93 |
| 2 | Beach Life-In-Death 13:18 | 97 |
| 3 | Stop Smoking (We Love You) 1:29 | 88 |
| 4 | Sober to Death 5:04 | 95 |
| 5 | Nervous Young Inhumans 5:25 | 92 |
| 6 | Bodys 6:46 | 96 |
| 7 | Cute Thing 5:39 | 93 |
| 8 | High to Death 7:39 | 93 |
| 9 | Famous Prophets (Stars) 16:10 | 95 |
| 10 | Twin Fantasy (Those Boys) 6:54 | 93 |
Total Length: 1 hour, 11 minutes
Year End Lists
| #7 | / | MondoSonoro |
| #9 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |
| #9 | / | The Skinny |
| #10 | / | No Ripcord |
| #13 | / | Far Out Magazine |
| #14 | / | Drowned in Sound |
| #17 | / | OOR |
| #20 | / | FLOOD |
| #24 | / | Slant Magazine |
| #26 | / | Bandcamp Daily |
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3w
The song structure of Bodys is actually insane. That last part with all the choruses combined is pure bliss.
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Added on: January 9, 2018