<p><span><span>- When a band is led by someone as mercurial as <strong>Will Toledo</strong>, it’s often wise to expect the unexpected with each new release. Such is the case with Car Seat Headrest, the American indie rock band whose last studio recording was a track-for-track remake of their 2011 self-released opus <em>Twin Fantasy</em>. Fittingly for this utterly weird year, Toledo has taken to wearing a gas mask as alter-ego Trait, while for this new album, he assembled his musicians to record the songs twice and mash the results together. <em>Making A Door Less Open</em> is the first collection of all new material from the band since 2016’s breakthrough <em>Teens Of Denial</em> and blends electronic renditions of the songs with the guitar-led indie rock the group is known for. It’s an ambitious, flawed and very entertaining record, Toledo (mostly) getting the balance right in these rock/synth hybrids. In places, it’s a little reminiscent of the evolution of <strong>Vampire Weekend</strong> since their early Afrobeat approximations, though things more haphazard and experimental. Fans needn’t be scared off, however. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Let’s get the stinker out of the way. <em>Hymn</em> is a would-be <strong>Scott Walker</strong>-esque dirge and while the instrumentation has potential (church organ and splashes of guitar), as a singer Toledo is no Walker in the doomy ballad stakes – and that’s putting it kindly. Don’t worry though, it’s all good! The rest of the record isn’t perfect either, but every other tune has something interesting going on that makes the album as a whole a very rewarding listen. Toledo frequently casts himself as a world-weary observer on the shallow world of showbiz but has the smarts to combine his withering observations with some very good hooks indeed, particularly in the riffy putdown <em>Hollywood</em> and the indie pop perfection of <em>Deadline</em> which opens with a <em>Billie Jean</em>-aping beat. Perhaps the most immediate and compact tune here, though, is <em>Martin</em>, in which rousingly strummed acoustic guitars blend with a variety of drum textures that makes the song both danceable and sound like it’s about to fall apart all at the same time. It’s bloody great, actually. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>There are some more ambitious epic tracks, like opener <em>Weightlifter</em> which starts with a bleat of electronic cacophony before turning into an intriguing piece of neon-lit, hi-tech rock & roll. While I chipped Toledo for his vocals on the aforementioned <em>Hymn</em>, he is a fantastic singer on the rest of the album. There a shades of <strong>Stephen Malkmus</strong> in his drawled delivery in both the ramshackle acoustic lament <em>What’s With You Lately</em> and the electro-ballad <em>There Must Be More Than Blood</em>, which is over seven minutes long but never outstays its welcome. He has more emotion and range than Malkmus though, who could never provide the pathos needed for the particularly majestic track <em>Life Worth Missing</em>. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>What this record ultimately proves is that Toledo and his cohorts are not content to keep treading the well-worn, lo-fi, indie rock path. Their experiments can be messy, but they are never less than fascinating.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Matt Thrower.</span></span></p>
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