Car Seat Headrest’s frontman Justin Toledo has followed up on his promise and delivered the final version of the War Is Coming (If You Want It). Why, you may very well ask, do I refer to our week-starter as “the final version”. Well earlier this month Toledo climbed aboard a trans rights campaign organised by Bandcamp that encouraged artist’s to join them in donating all funds raised on August 4th to the Transgender Law Centre. Toledo showed his support for TLC by releasing an alternate mix of today’s juice- promising a polished version in the coming weeks. Well, the weeks have come and today’s track sure is most certainly polished.
Like The National’s Matt Berniger or The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, Toledo’s unconventional voice really grows on you. If today is your first encounter with CSH then it’s important to be open minded. Think of Toledo’s vocals as a hot bath. The unfamiliar heat may be a little uncomfortable at first but once your body has had a moment to acclimatise, you can rest easy knowing things are only going to get better. War Is Coming (If you Want) begins with a hefty baseline that is pierced by short, sharp incisions of guitar. The first verse is melancholic but atmospheric as an ominous synth creeps in the background to create a sense of angst. Segwayed by a few lo-fi licks, the tension is broken with a noisy chorus that has Toledo testing his sullen vocals amongst a lot of cymbals and a lot of feedback. It’s unclear if there are more CSH tracks in tow but this should do you for now.