‘Teens of Denial’ is Car Seat Headrest’s first proper studio album following a string of
bedroom records he did himself. Real name Will Toledo, still in his early twenties, has
spent years cranking out jagged, thoughtful, self-aware music, which he did most of from
his bedroom alone, posting it all on Bandcamp, when essentially nobody was paying
attention.

Now with ‘Teens of Denial’ Toledo has a full band to create his songs with, as opposed to
his earlier years when he had to call on any musicians he could to help him record what
was stuck in his mind. Now that he has this full band to work with, it really shines through
in ‘Teens of Denial’ as each track sounds that much tighter, crisper and fully formed.
‘Teens of Denial’ is guitar-driven music filled with book-smart lyrics concerned largely with
depression, which naturally means that Toledo has been championed in some circles as
an “indie rock saviour,” though he wouldn’t say that himself.

Toledo had a recent set back with this album, where a legal issue over “Just What I
Wanted/Not Just What I Needed,” an album track containing elements of The Cars' “Just
What I Needed.” A statement said “Matador had negotiated for a license in good faith
months ago, only to be told last week that the publisher involved was not authorized to
complete the license in the United States, and that Ric Ocasek preferred that his work not
be included in the song.”

As a result, all copies of ‘Teens of Denial’ had to be recalled and destroyed, so because of
this, a time for when the LP is coming back in is still unknown.