Let's be candid: Teens of Denial is an important record. Now, I don't mean it's important in the same way that Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly is politically important. No, Teens of Denial is important because it has made this reviewer potently aware of how badly rock music needs Will Toledo. For those of you who are still unfamiliar with Car Seat Headrest, understand that Teens of Denial is a particularly unusual "debut" album given that it is both the Seattle-based band's ... read more
Underrated. Hearing this in 2024, I thought it was a contemporary release — a tongue-in-cheek, "hypermodern" spin on indie rock with inflections of country, emo, and classical. Nope, this fucker's from 2008. A singular work.
Misc:
• Scene/hipster take on classic Americana/country album design is so damn good
• Guitar at 5:34 of "Midnight Surprise" sounds like "Come sweet death, second impact"
Full Review: PENDING