Teens of Denial

Teens of Denial
Studio album by Car Seat Headrest
Released May 20, 2016
Genre Indie rock
Length 70:07
Label Matador
Producer Steve Fisk
Car Seat Headrest chronology
Teens of Style
(2015)		 Teens of Denial
(2016)
Singles from Teens of Denial
  1. "Vincent"
    Released: February 23, 2016
  2. "Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales"
    Released: March 24, 2016
  3. "Fill in the Blank"
    Released: April 11, 2016

Teens of Denial is the thirteenth studio album by American indie rock band Car Seat Headrest. It was released on May 20, 2016 by Matador Records, serving as the band's second album for the label and the first to consist of newly recorded material.

Release

In a November 2015 interview with Billboard, Car Seat Headrest frontman Will Toledo stated that the band's 2015 album Teens of Style would be followed by Teens of Denial, which he indicated would be their first to feature an outside producer and a "totally different" sound.[1] On February 23, 2016, the lead single from Teens of Denial, "Vincent", was released, along with an accompanying music video.[2] On March 24, Toledo announced a May 20 release date for the album and premiered one of its tracks, "Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales".[3]

Recall

On May 13, 2016, Matador Records recalled the entire initial compact disc and vinyl print runs of the album following the denial of permission to use lyrics from The Cars' "Just What I Needed" in the song "Just What I Needed/Not Just What I Needed".[4] It was the first time in the label's history that they had recalled a record.[5] The recalled copies were destroyed in the label's warehouse using a garbage truck compactor.[5]

Car Seat Headrest and Matador Records had believed that they had secured the proper approval from The Cars' publisher to include the interpolation of "Just What I Needed" in "Just What I Needed/Not Just What I Needed" and had moved forward with pressing copies of Teens of Denial with the song.[5] However, on May 10, 2016, Cars singer and songwriter Ric Ocasek denied permission to use elements of "Just What I Needed" after discovering that Toledo had changed a single line from the original lyrics.[5]

Toledo recorded a new version of the song, titled "Not What I Needed", which removed the elements from "Just What I Needed" and was inserted in the revised tracklist of the album.[6] The digital release of Teens of Denial was unaffected by the recall and included the new song, but the physical release was delayed until July.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Austin Chronicle[9]
The A.V. ClubA[10]
Mojo[11]
NME4/5[12]
Pitchfork Media8.5/10[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Spin7/10[15]
Uncut8/10[16]
ViceA[17]

Teens of Denial holds a score of 86 out of 100 on the online review aggregate site Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[7] David Brusie of The A.V. Club wrote that the repeated "exercise in tension and release" throughout the record "is essential to Teens of Denial's blistering greatness", concluding that "Toledo seems to be saying, buckle in; I'm taking you somewhere exciting. Trust him."[10] Mark Deming of AllMusic found "real and powerful wit" in the album's songs and stated that Toledo "has created something like a novel after previously offering us short stories, and it's a piece of rough-hewn brilliance."[8] Jeremy Gordon of Pitchfork Media noted that "even with the bigger budget and brighter environs, Toledo's underriding DIY sensibility comes through."[13] NME critic Alex Flood called Teens of Denial "the work of a precocious talent."[12]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
American Songwriter Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2016 2016
Mojo The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
Paste 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2016
The Skinny Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016

Track listing

All tracks written by Will Toledo. 

No. Title Length
1. "Fill in the Blank"   4:04
2. "Vincent"   7:45
3. "Destroyed by Hippie Powers"   5:03
4. "(Joe Gets Kicked out of School for Using) Drugs with Friends (But Says This Isn't a Problem)"   5:37
5. "Not What I Needed"   4:31
6. "Drunk Drivers / Killer Whales"   6:14
7. "1937 State Park"   4:00
8. "Unforgiving Girl (She's Not An)"   5:26
9. "Cosmic Hero"   8:31
10. "The Ballad of the Costa Concordia"   11:30
11. "Connect the Dots (The Saga of Frank Sinatra)"   6:07
12. "Joe Goes to School"   1:19
Total length:
 70:07

Personnel

Car Seat Headrest
  • Seth Dalby – bass on "Unforgiving Girl"
  • Ethan Ives – bass, vocals, guitars, vibrato switch on organ
  • Andrew Katz – drums, mixed percussion, Mellotron, vocals, mixing
  • Will Toledo – vocals, guitars, organ, piano, Mellotron
Additional personnel
  • Jim Dejoie – saxophone on "Connect the Dots"
  • Gordon S. Fisk – back cover photograph
  • Steve Fisk – production
  • Jon Maus – trumpets and trombone on "Vincent", "Unforgiving Girl", "Cosmic Hero" and "Ballad of the Costa Concordia"
  • Nick Shadel – piano on "Ballad of the Costa Concordia"
  • Mike Zimmerman – cover layout, design

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27] 121
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[28] 82
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 198
US Billboard 200[30] 180
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[31] 15
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[32] 16
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[33] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[34] 22

References

  1. ↑ Payne, Chris (November 4, 2015). "New Noise: Car Seat Headrest Is a Bandcamp Cult Hero on to Something Big". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  2. ↑ Boilen, Bob (February 23, 2016). "Car Seat Headrest Blasts Off With The Brilliant 'Vincent'". NPR. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  3. ↑ Brennan, Collin (March 24, 2016). "Car Seat Headrest announces new album, Teens of Denial, shares "Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy. "Car Seat Headrest LPs Destroyed Because Ric Ocasek Wouldn't Authorize a Cars Sample | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Jurgensen, John (1 June 2016). "Why a Record Label Crushed a Batch of Vinyl Records". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  6. ↑ Reilly, Dan. "How Car Seat Headrest Wrote His Fraught, Least-Favorite New Song, 'Not What I Needed'". Vulture. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Reviews for Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest". Metacritic. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Teens of Denial – Car Seat Headrest". AllMusic. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  9. ↑ Webster, Libby (August 12, 2016). "Car Seat Headrest". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Brusie, David (May 20, 2016). "On Teens Of Denial, Car Seat Headrest dares you to buckle in—and you should". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  11. ↑ Myers, Ben (June 2016). "Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Denial". Mojo (271): 92.
  12. 1 2 Flood, Alex (May 25, 2016). "Car Seat Headrest – 'Teens Of Denial' Review". NME. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Gordon, Jeremy (May 20, 2016). "Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Denial". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  14. ↑ Hermes, Will (May 25, 2016). "Teens of Denial". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  15. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (May 20, 2016). "Review: This Is a Long Drive for Car Seat Headrest on 'Teens of Denial'". Spin. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Denial". Uncut (230): 70. July 2016.
  17. ↑ Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2016). "Car Seat Headrest, The Julie Ruin, and Drugs: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  18. ↑ "American Songwriter's Top 50 Albums of 2016". American Songwriter. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2016". Consequence of Sound. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  20. ↑ "NME's Albums of the Year 2016". NME. November 24, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  21. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Mojo. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  22. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste Magazine. November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  23. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2016". The Skinny. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  26. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Stereogum. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  29. ↑ Chart Log UK: "CLUK Update 16.07.2016 (wk28)". UK Albums Chart. Zobbel.de. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Car Seat Headrest – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Car Seat Headrest – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Car Seat Headrest – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Car Seat Headrest – Chart history" Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums for Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Car Seat Headrest – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
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