If you are a serious music fan, or for some god forsaken reason try to run a music blog, then you surely find yourself getting a little bored at times with the music that is in the forefront of the musical landscape. Well, rejoice, as one of the more interesting shows of the year is coming through Nashville tonight. The musical project of young prodigal songwriter Will Toledo, who performs under the moniker Car Seat Headrest, is playing Mercy Lounge tonight, and it should be on your radar to provide some spice in your music life. Baroque retro-popsters The Lemon Twigs kick things off at 8 pm, and tickets are still available for $15. Head below to read more about the show, and we’ll see you tonight.
CAR SEAT HEADREST
To call Will Toledo prolific might be an understatement. The creative force behind Car Seat Headrest, Toledo released an impressive 11 records via Bandcamp while he was in college, before he was finally snatched up by Matador in 2015 to release a compilation, titled Teens Of Style. While that record first began to give Car Seat Headrest a wider distribution, Toledo went to work on his first proper studio album, Teens Of Denial, which released earlier this year to widespread critical acclaim. It’s a far cry from recording in the back seat of his car, where he nervously performed for an audience of only his car seat headrest, which reportedly spawned the band’s name. Toledo’s DIY ethos, dynamic and emotive songwriting, and generally unforgiving and heady subject matter is a breath of fresh air in the musical landscape today, and has seen Car Seat Headrest quickly scale the blogosphere to more mainstream outlets like their recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. If you aren’t familiar with Car Seat Headrest, get the uber catchy track “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales” stuck in your head right now, and we’ll see you tonight.
THE LEMON TWIGS
Relative upstart, retro pop influenced rockers The Lemon Twigs have come a long way in a short time. Founded by the sons of late-70s popster Ronny D’Addario, one of whom technically wouldn’t be let in the doors at Mercy were he not playing, music clearly ran in the family for Brian and Michael, and they are carrying the torch for their father. They picked up his 70s pop sensibilities, and mixed in some contemporary flair, which ultimately caught the attention of 4AD. The brothers have released a pair of singles this summer, before landing the coveted spot in support of Car Seat Headrest this fall, which should provide them a wide net as CSH shows across the country are selling out. While, it’s unclear how they will fill much of a support set with a mere two published songs in their catalogue, but it’s safe to say that they fit the bill of unique and interesting twists on the musical landscape tonight.
Car Seat Headrest and The Lemon Twigs perform tonight (Sept. 7) at Mercy Lounge. The show is 18+, begins at 8pm (doors at 7pm), and tickets are available for $15.