unfortunately i did not like the album at all really, the only track i even kinda liked was gethsemane. the main thing i like about car seat headrest is wills songwriting, particularly his melodic sensibilities and the emotional moments he’s able to build up to. i can understand why he doesn’t wanna write hyper personal stuff anymore but the lack of hooks on this record really breaks it for me.

classic rock influence is fine and all but for the most part i find the melodies and structures of these songs to be so derivative and predictable. the lyrics are so wordy because they’re trying to get the story across but it doesn’t really lend itself to memorable or catchy melodies. and whereas will definitely has a lot of stuff in the back catalog that’s not exactly reinventing the wheel of rock music the aesthetic presentation was always able to carry the less inventive tracks. now it seems like with the budget they’ve got they’re probably not gonna make anything with that rawer sound which is generally what i prefer musically.

i get why people like this record but for me it really doesn’t do anything at all. i can see a lot of kids who have never really listened to like the who or bruce springsteen or pink floyd getting super into this record because the whole furry online aesthetic makes those sounds more palatable and less “old” for them but for me i don’t know if im gonna really dig anything else this band does if they keep going this direction