Car Seat Headrest: Living While Starving (2/17/2024)

Car Seat Headrest: Living While Starving [Self-released EP, 2012] I give these guys a lot of credit, and not just for existing and by extension disproving all of the "rock is dead" clickbait that floods the search history of over half of American cynics, but for actually being important and of notice, for not only being the best indie band, but one that should be worshipped thirty years post-breakup by middle-schoolers who think they're on the cutting edge. They're also era-appropriate, refusing to recycle clichés in a weak attempt to bring back the overwrought Zeppelinesque glory of a generation they weren't around to see. Also refusing the spit-shine production that gets most ignorant laymen on a Spotify playlist, this EP's recording studio was probably a five year-old laptop. However, this is a good thing in the case of Will Toledo, who does not need a skilled producer to compensate for talent.

"The other night I cried while thinking of having sex with you / Not out of desire or shame but some subconscious impulse to feel pain," Toledo sings on the opening track (and best song on the EP) "It's Only Sex." While it is completely your choice to decide if this is a cliché, Toledo's sincerity sets him apart from most new artists drawing from emo and lo-fi. What makes "It's Only Sex" the best song on Living While Starving is simple. It's catchy, it has a riff, it's honest, and it's produced well enough to hear. The second-best track, "Reuse The Cels," is noticeably more electronic than most other CSHR songs, has a decent music video, and is nice enough. However, despite the slightly funny if not disturbing mantra of "What drugs can I take to make me enojoy this?" on "I Hate Living," the last three tracks on Living While Starving frequently bounce between forgettable and great. "Oh! Starving" has some synthesizers and loud vocals, but otherwise, there's nothing here on the level of Teens Of Denial. Good, but not what you'll get from later releases. [6.6/10]