Making A Door Less Open (studio album) by Car Seat Headrest

I saw Fantano's review before giving the album a listen, and I wanted to believe he was wrong. I was intrigued by the shift in sound to a more electronic focus, but they just didn't really manage to pull off anything noteworthy with it. Will's quirky and creative lyrics still seem to be present, but I just haven't felt like coming back to the album to pick them out.

Not that I don't want the band to try new things, but I do hope they return more to the sound that launched them into critical acclaim, because they do that so damn well.

From HoldenM 12/14/2020 02:22

Listened to it a few times. Wanted to like it, but... eh. It's like Will's doing a weird LCD Soundsystem thing without any of what makes that project fun or smart. Still a good album, but a definite slump.

From Brad1770 08/17/2020 04:35

Not good

Not bad either

Some better than ok moments (the crunchy “Hollywood” , “Martin” and “There Must More Than Blood”)

Some shockers (“Hymn - Remix”, “Famous”)

And everything in between meh

From SaulCortes1992 06/16/2020 10:49

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From Vatsal 06/16/2020 06:51

Ballsy move by Will and band. Barring a couple of songs towards the end, the album sounds nothing like their previous albums. If anything, its closest sonic successor is How To Leave Town (both albums start with a long piercing synth monotone), and honestly, I hope this album does for HTLT what the re-recorded Twin Fantasy did for the original one.

Personally, this album did not engage me emotionally quite like ToD or TF, but its still a very great, exciting listen. It never really lets you rest or gets boring and it insists that you get on its wavelength if you wanna jam with it. I pretty much like every track on this album and it really shines in some places (Martin, Deadlines). That being said, I also understand that it's proably not a great album and will not make as much of a mark as the previous albums. But I guess if the purpose was to make the door less open, then they succeeded in doing just that.

From mdbaxter 05/18/2020 19:55

Pretty good effort from Car Seat Headrest. Will goes back to a more electronic sound that he has used on previous releases but this time he trades the low-fi sound for more pop-influenced production. There is some lack of focus on the whole but most of the individual songs are quality, "Hollywood" not being one of them. While this isn't my favorite album of theirs, I still enjoy it. The Deadlines are my favorite parts of the record and I was very surprised to learn that they aren't even included on the vinyl version.

I can fully understand why people may not like this record, especially if you are only familiar with Teens and Twin Fantasy. But dig deeper and go further back and you will discover that this is the kind of sound that Will has been adding to his much earlier records in small doses, but now with a label behind him he is able to push the sound forward and make it his own. I didn't really vibe with the singles released leading up the album, but after the full release it all started to come together (For the most part). 'Weightlifters' is a great opener, 'Can't Cool Me Down' is a grower, despite falling short in my opinion. And the two 'Deadline' tracks are a lot of fun, with 'Thoughtful' being my favourite of the two, as Will really gets experimental with sounds. Unfortunately tracks like 'Hollywood' and 'Hymn (Remix) will never land for me. Despite the awesome guitar work in 'Hollywood', it's far too goofy vocally for my taste, With what sounds like Andrew is shouting with his mouth stuffed with Marshmallows or something (idk). The album leads up to 'There Must Be More Blood' and 'Life Worth Missing' which sounds closest to anything off the 'Teens of Denial' record and are great tunes. Unfortunately the closing track 'Famous' really leaves a lot to desire and doesn't satisfy me at all.

Favourite Tracks:
Weightlifters
Can't Cool Me Down
Martin
Deadlines (Thoughtful)
Life Worth Missing
There Must Be More Blood

Least Favourite:
Hollywood
Hymn (Remix)
Famous

Rating: 7.5

From ledaero 05/11/2020 07:18

Car Seat Headrest's new album unfortunately comes across as a stylistic hot mess that's a bit incomprehensible. Feels like a pretentious attempt to break some genre barrier, but it's just chaos a lot of the time with unfulfilled ideas. There Must Be More Than Blood is the only track to land for me. Easily my least favorite of their albums.

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From awesomness425 05/04/2020 09:33

I think the biggest problem with it is it’s inconsistent sound. This different approach to by Will and the gang isn’t that experimental, if anything, it just sounds more like a commercial approach. Not interested in most of the songs here. Hollywood also isn’t that bad. Its a ridiculous song, but I’ve heard worse. There Must Be More Than Blood is most definitely a stand out, but regardless this is a major step down.