Car Seat Headrest
The Scholars
Release Date: May 2, 2025
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Record label: Matador
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Album Review: The Scholars by Car Seat Headrest
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 7/10
During its nascency as a solo bedroom operation, multiple releases per year were de rigueur; as a full band, CSH are no stranger to jamming clear across the 60 minute mark. The Scholars, though, takes things up a grade. The term "rock opera" has rarely been so apt, with Toledo and co getting deep into some serious world building for Car Seat Headrest's 13th record (fifth as a full band).
Opinion: Very Good
Car Seat Headrest's The Scholars isn't the band's first dalliance with a narrative format. Their 2011 album Twin Fantasy, which was re-recorded and re-released in 2018, is a concept album about adolescent self-discovery and sexual awakening. The Scholars similarly centers on young adults, but these characters are less concerned with sex and drugs than the esoteric traditions and mysterious happenings at the fictional Parnassus University.
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