The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Week
  • Books + Movies
  • About
11
new
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: DRECKIG – “LA BALLENA”
SPILL FEATURE: THE HEART IS STRANGE – A CONVERSATION WITH CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN & SUSANNE FREYTAG OF XPROPAGANDA
SPILL NEWS: OFFICIAL FULL TRAILER FOR ‘A-HA TRUE NORTH’ SHARED BY SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT AND TRAFALGAR RELEASING
SPILL NEW MUSIC: PEARLA SIGNS TO SPACEBOMB + DEBUT LP ‘OH GLISTENING ONION, THE NIGHTTIME IS COMING’ OUT OCTOBER 21 | WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “EFFORT” NOW
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE – BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE (DELUXE EDITION)
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: SUNFRUITS – “MADE TO LOVE”
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: BEVERLY CRUSHER – “GIMMIE THE POWER”
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ROY SHAKKED – THROWBACK
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: DAYAWAY – “SUMMER’S END”
SPILL FEATURE: A PERFECT DISH TO SERVE – A CONVERSATION WITH PETER HOOK
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: ORMISTON – “HAMMER DOWN”
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Week
  • Books + Movies
  • About
  • Spill Menu
    • Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Festivals
    • Portraits
    • Headlines
      • News
      • Contests
      • Events
      • Entertainment Headlines
      • Concert Listings
      • Toronto Concert Venues
    • New Music
      • Premieres
      • Track Of The Day
    • Track Of The Week
    • Books + Movies
    • About
Album Reviews
3
158
previous article
SPILL BOOK REVIEW: DAVID COLLIER - TOPP: PROMOTER GARY TOPP BROUGHT US THE WORLD
next article
SPILL FEATURE: LOST AND FOUND - A CONVERSATION WITH SPIRIT DIES FIRST

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CAR SEAT HEADREST – MAKING A DOOR LESS OPEN

Car Seat Headrest

Car Seat Headrest
Making A Door Less Open
Matador Records

Such is the restless spirit and the waves of creative energy that accompany all of the Car Seat Headrest’s releases that for this album every song has been recorded twice separately: once with conventional instruments, as was the approach for all of the bands previous releases, and once with mostly electronic and synth-based equipment. This was done under the guise of 1 Trait Danger, a side project that features both Toledo and drummer Andrew Katz. The result is an album that explores all-new territory and equally all-new possibilities both sonically and vocally. Obviously, when experimentation on this kind of scale is the driving force behind an album’s creation, not all of the results are flawless, but when it all clicks, this is an album that is both memorable and awe-inspiring.

Such was the unique nature of the recording process for this album, many versions of the same songs were recorded; instead of choosing one and running with it, the band decided to release all of them in different formats: physical copy, promo release, vinyl version, and digital release all carried slightly different tracks and differently-ordered track-lists.

The four tracks that were released in advance of the May 1 release date are all standouts, of that there is no question, but all of them for very different reasons. While “Can’t Cool Me Down” introduced listeners and fans alike to the electronic aspects of this new direction, “Martin” felt more like a return to past form and is unquestionably one of the album’s and the band’s finest songs to date. “Hollywood” was another interesting step in a new direction, not least because the vocal weight was shared amongst the band members. The final release, “There Must Be More Than Blood” was likely the most indicative of the rest of the album’s sonic pallet. Running over seven minutes, like many of the band’s most memorable songs, this is a song that blurs the lines between past and present Car Seat Headrest, carrying all the emotional weight and storytelling but with a much-evolved musical soundscape.

Amongst the remaining seven tracks, there are a few misses but more than just a few absolute triumphs. Album opener “Weightlifters” is Toledo at his lyrically-potent best, in spite of the unnerving intro, while both versions of “Deadlines” are transfixing listens that explore all of the possible boundaries of the band’s new approach to recording.

If simplicity is all that you’re after then you could assume that this is an album that focuses on one narrative, that being the band’s evolution from a creative outlet for Toledo with a small and devout following to a now well-recognized and critically-acclaimed band with an international audience, complete with all of the discomfort of having fame and all of its complexities thrust upon you. Simplicity has never been a defining characteristic of Car Seat Headrest though, a fact that is obvious upon listening to any of the band’s previous work. Viewing Making A Door Less Open through that lens then is no more accurate (or helpful) here. There is so much to experience on this album, so many layers, so many possibilities and that is truly the most memorable aspect of it. It is more of an open channel and less of a well-tried convention, 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. Keep doing what you’re doing Car Seat Headrests, because it’s brilliant, and more importantly, it is urgently, authentically, you.



Artist Links

website_flat_2016 facebook_flat_2016 twitter_flat_2016 instagram_flat_2016

Item Reviewed

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CAR SEAT HEADREST – MAKING A DOOR LESS OPEN

Author

Br.

Here's what we think...
Spill Rating
Fan Rating
Rate Here
New Criteria
10
8.1
8.0
Total Spill Rating
8.1
Total Fan Rating
1 rating
You have rated this
Album Reviews
album reviewalbum reviewscar seat headrestmaking a door less openmartinmatador records
album review, album reviews, car seat headrest, making a door less open, martin, matador records
About the Author
Br.
Br. lives in southern Ontario, grew up on The Beatles and The Journeymen, spent his adolescence immersed in grunge, and his adulthood in British alternative. His greatest joy is seeing his son dance and grow into his own appreciation of the indescribable joy of music...
RELATED ARTICLES
album reviewalbum reviewscar seat headrest
 
9.0
c

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE – BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE (DELUXE EDITION)

by Melinda Welsh on August 5, 2022
Bullet For My Valentine Bullet For My Valentine (Deluxe Edition) Spinefarm Records Bullet for My Valentine have just released a deluxe edition of [...]
 
8.0
Roy Shakked

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ROY SHAKKED – THROWBACK

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on August 2, 2022
Roy Shakked Throwback Groove Gravy Records Since Steely Dan appeared in full force me 50 years ago, many other artists have tried to reach their almost inaccessible heights. They have sat [...]
 
9.0
Frances Chang

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FRANCES CHANG – SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL NIHILIST

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on July 22, 2022
Frances Chang Support Your Local Nihilist Independent It might be quite a task to locate New York artist Frances Chang on social media. One of the reasons might be that [...]
 
9.0
Paul Weller

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PAUL WELLER – 22 DREAMS (VINYL REISSUE)

by Aaron Badgley on July 22, 2022
Paul Weller 22 Dreams (Vinyl Reissue) Island/Universal Records In June, 2008, Paul Weller released his ninth solo album, 22 Dreams. It was a massive album in the U.K. and Europe. In fact it [...]
 
9.0
Spore
—

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SPORE – HERETIC

by Aaron Badgley on July 22, 2022
Spore Heretic Hamfuggi Records Spore is a duo composed of Deborah Fialkiewicz and John Koser. Both are established artists in the world of electronic music and both have created some incredible art [...]

Latest Album Reviews
View All
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE – BULLET FOR MY V...
9.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ROY SHAKKED – THROWBACK
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FRANCES CHANG – SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL NIHILIST
9.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PAUL WELLER – 22 DREAMS (VINYL REISSUE)
9.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SPORE – HERETIC
9.0
—

Tweets by @spillmagazine

SPILL MAGAZINE MENU
  • Checkout
  • Home | The Spill Magazine
  • Order Confirmation
  • Order Failed
  • Premieres
  • Track Of The Week
  • Album Reviews
  • Books + Movies
  • Features
  • Live Reviews
  • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • News
  • Events
  • Entertainment Headlines
  • Concert Listings
  • Toronto Concert Venues
  • About Us
  • Contests
  • New Music
  • Spill Magazine Contributors
  • TOTD
  • Privacy Policy
  • The Scene Unseen
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2022 | The Spill Magazine
All Rights Reserved.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW
   
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: RICH JACQUES – “EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE”
941
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE FIXX – EVERY FIVE SECONDS
654
 
SPILL FEATURE: DON’T YOU FEEL CLOSER? – A CONVERSATION WITH CY CURNIN OF THE FIXX
630
 
SPILL FEATURE: A PERFECT DISH TO SERVE – A CONVERSATION WITH PETER HOOK
434
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FANTASTIC NEGRITO – WHITE JESUS BLACK PROBLEMS
365
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: AVI KAPLAN – FLOATING ON A DREAM
356
 
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: KRAFTWERK @ MASSEY HALL, TORONTO
340
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE SHEEPDOGS – OUTTA SIGHT
256
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: THE CAUGHTERY – “FRAGILE”
237
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SHINEDOWN – PLANET ZERO
209
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: STARS – FROM CAPELTON HILL
199
 
SPILL FEATURE: WE WOULDN’T BE INTERESTED IN MAKING ANOTHER CRISIS – A CONVERSATION WITH GEORGE PETTIT OF ALEXISONFIRE
198
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ALAN PARSONS – FROM THE NEW WORLD
196
ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES