Car Seat Headrest, the once-bedroom project of Will Toledo now turned one of the best rock bands of 2016 and beyond, appeared on The Tonight Show last night to perform two songs off their latest record Teens Of Denial. He had the honor of performing “Drunk Drivers / Killer Whales” and as Stereogum points out, keyboardist James Poyser’s organs lent an Dylanesque gospel vibe to the whole thing.
That wasn’t the only contribution from The Roots though — a backing of brass added flourishes to the song that elevated it to a whole new level. Considering Toledo has been putting out albums on Bandcamp for years now — which were examined and discussed earlier this year with our own Steven Hyden — it’s no surprise that his work is getting an enormous level of acclaim. He’s already put out 11 albums, Teens Of Denial is only the first one that had the backing of an iconic indie label like Matador to help catch the world’s attention.
Watch the video above. If, when it hits the 3:00 minute apex you will be won over enough to go stream their album on Spotify. That’s what makes Car Seat Headrest the biggest indie rock success story of this year — a single song will leave you filled with a hopeful determination you thought had left. That’s what music does, in years like this one.
