Making a Door Less Open

Toledo has always been a lovably jaded ringleader, and Making A Door Less Open continues to dwell on his self-criticism and feelings of redundancy. What makes it a continuously compelling listen is how each song manages to use different sonic approaches to extract a new shade of his despondency.

As with any Car Seat Headrest record, there’s always a whisper of a phrase, or an unusual lyric that passes you by and later stops you in your tracks. Likewise, there are plenty of musical layers and varied instrumentation that draw your ears one way and another.

Stretching his creative wings has worked for Toledo; there's a sense of him pushing outward as well as forward, even as he questions the point of it all. [Jul 2020, p.106]

Making A Door Less Open is a worthy addition to the creative evolution of Car Seat Headrest.

A weird and wonderful new offering.

Far from experiencing growing pains, Car Seat seem to have had a lot of fun here.

Toledo isn't the first artist to discover getting what you want isn't the same thing as getting what you were hoping for, and the cooler, more precise, and less cozy surfaces of Making a Door Less Open suit these songs well, the inorganic tone meshing with the alienation that permeates the album. Despite all that, the simple yet effective melodies that buoyed Car Seat Headrest's earlier work are still recognizable, and the sincere, foggy tone of Toledo's voice adds a humanity that makes his uncertainty cut even deeper.

A set of dizzyingly creative and often uncategorizable songs.

10 seamless melds of indie guitars and electronic pop, stuffed with spry choruses and poetic self-castigation delivered in Toledo's appealingly crushed bleat. [Jun 2020, p.86]

An interesting bunt that adds color and flavor to an intriguing sound, Making a Door Less Open is a classic transitional album, which they may double back from and they may double down on; frankly, either result will be more exciting.

The album’s best songs show the potential of a more focused implementation of these styles. But if you’re willing to go along for the ride, you’ll find a lot to love in Will Toledo’s latest reinvention.

Even when Making a Door Less Open gets a little clunky, it remains compelling.

t’s open season on genres here. There’s the puerile punk of ‘Hollywood’ (“makes me wanna puke”), and the misguided balladry of ‘What’s With You Lately’. But they’re the only real bum notes. This experimental streak finds better pay off on ‘Hymn (Remix)’, crammed with juddering synths, and the delicious 80s pop of ‘Can’t Cool Me Down’. Sometimes, they veer almost to the middle of the road, radio-friendly hit ‘Martin’, warmed up with muted brass and intricate looping.

Its searing synths and chopped vocals can feel unjustified as a whole, but the songcraft is strong and the style supports some of its best moments.

It feels more like a bedroom project than their recent full-band work, yet Toledo's knack for an irresistible choruses endures. [Jun 2020, p.28]

Making a Door Less Open feels smaller than Car Seat Headrest's best work — not only in its sonic scope but in its lyrical content, now less insular and biting. Still, Toledo's talent for stirring melodies and intelligent song writing remain firmly intact, and he makes intriguing use of this new palette.