New Music Tuesday 5/24/16

Friday marked the release of Car Seat Headrest‘s Teens of Denial, which highlight’s this week’s New Music Tuesday list and will be a sure contender for album of the year. Not only is the album insanely good, but Will Toledo’s rise is a story we can all get behind in today’s internet age.

Teens of Denial is the Leesburg, VA native Will Toledo’s 12th album released since 2010, his second album on Matador Records; the first of which (Teens of Style 2015) was a reworking of songs from Car Seat Headrest‘s prior albums that were released via his Bandcamp. This would be Car Seat Headrest’s official debut of new music via a label, a success story for the Bandcamp generation on how to put out music.

The music industry isn’t easy today, especially for the DIY musician. Sure you can easily put your music out for the world to hear in today’s industry, but there are a ton of new albums hitting Bandcamp everyday, sometimes it seems as though new bands are releasing music into a black hole. Will Toledo is another reminder that it can be done.

Car Seat Headrest isn’t some dumb luck though, instead it’s a lesson to look up to and learn from. 12 albums since 2010 is just a crazy number! But at only 23 years of age, Toledo grew up in the post Napster era of listening to music. Dive into his catalog, and reworks of songs along the way, you find a kid that was not only listening, but learning along the way. He’s gobbled up the music of the past, and his own present, to form one cohesive unit that is Car Seat Headrest, one of the best rock and roll bands today. The Strokes, Guided By Voices, Nirvana, Yo La Tango, Neutral Milk Hotel, Television, the comparison lists from outlets goes on and on, it’s all in there if you dig in, but what really stands out is Toledo’s songwriting. Dive into his lyrics of teenage angst and more, you’ll find something new and impactful with every listen. Will Toledo has the potential to be a generational type talent, he just needed an audience and there’s no doubt on his 12th album that he has found it. Plus these days, how many albums have 3 almost 8 minute and above tracks that you don’t want to end?

Check out this article on Ars Technica, that takes an in depth look at Car Seat Headrest’s rise in the Bandcamp generation, capturing exactly what I was feeling when first listening to Teens of Denial: here.

Another highlight this week is Day of the Dead, an epic 59 track tribute album to the artistry and music of the Grateful Dead, curated by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National. The project features Dead covers by the National, Wilco, the Flaming Lips, Courtney Barnett, the War on Drugs, Bruce Hornsby with Justin Vernon’s band DeYarmond Edison and Megafaun, the Walkmen, Kurt Vile and J Mascis, Jenny Lewis, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Real Estate, Perfume Genius with Sharon Van Etten, Fucked Up, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and many more. A project several years in the making, the record is a benefit for the AIDs-fighting not-for-profit company The Red Hot Organization.

Other highlights this week includes Mutual Benefit‘s sophomore album Skip A Sinking Stone, another gorgeous astral folk album from Jordan Lee. Tanya Donnelly (of Throwing Muses/The Breeders/Belly) has been releasing an EP series The Swan Song since 2013, in which she collaborated with a diverse range of musicians, writers, and artists. On Friday, the EPs were collected and released as a 3 LP set, The Swan Song Series EPs. A new band out of Atlanta, Little Rituals, released their self titled debut, a compelling start of psychedelic alt-country. Two stellar, yet different songstresses released new albums in Grace Joyner‘s Maybe Sometimes – in a C and Marissa Nadler‘s Strangers. And don’t forget about Tom Petty’s original band Mudcrutch just released their “sophomore” album 2.

Buckle up folks, there is plenty of good new music released last week worth diving into if you can make it past the Car Seat Headrest album. There is definitely something for everyone. Our full list of picks of interesting new releases this week: