The Scholars (album)
| The Scholars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 2, 2025 | |||
| Studio | Temple of the Trees (Seattle) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 70:32 126:38 (deluxe) | |||
| Label | Matador | |||
| Producer | Will Toledo | |||
| Car Seat Headrest chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Scholars | ||||
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The Scholars is the upcoming thirteenth album by American indie rock band Car Seat Headrest. It is scheduled for release on May 2, 2025 through Matador Records, and marks the first new material from the band since 2020.
The album was teased through an alternate reality game-style website that gradually revealed snippets of the track "Gethsemane". In contrast to the indietronica and standalone songs of their previous album, Making a Door Less Open, The Scholars has been promoted as a concept album and a rock opera, based around several characters who attend a university. The first single, "Gethsemane", was officially released on March 4, 2025 with a music video directed by Andrew Wonder.
Background and recording
[edit]While on the band's 2022 North American Tour (also called the "Masquerade Tour"), frontman Will Toledo was diagnosed with COVID-19, along with drummer Andrew Katz. Toledo's condition later progressed into long COVID.[1] After his health continued to deteriorate, Toledo cancelled the remainder of the band's tour dates in October 2022.[2] During this time, the band considered disbanding for Toledo's health.[2]
Toledo was later diagnosed with histamine intolerance, forcing him to adopt a restricted diet. Once his health began to improve in spring 2023, work on what would become The Scholars began with extended jam sessions in order to ease back into playing after a year off.[2] With the jam sessions, the band's collaborative live dynamic was brought into the album's creative process, resulting in a higher sense of open collaboration between band members while writing and in the studio. Compared to previous Car Seat Headrest albums, where Toledo would bring solo demos to the band and flesh them out, The Scholars saw some songs originate from other members of the band. Notably, The Scholars is the first Car Seat Headrest album where the songwriting credits list the entire band as writers for all songs, rather than being written solely by Toledo.[2]
As for his leadership role in the band's creative process, Toledo stated that he was "more of an organizer than the composer", and he felt his strengths lied in "prodding something that’s already there into a direction that I see it going". Toledo encouraged guitarist Ethan Ives to take ownership of the sound design on the record, and Ives also co-wrote the song "Reality".[2] Similar to other projects by the band, The Scholars was entirely self-produced by Toledo.[3] However, unlike the band's previous albums, it was mostly recorded using analog equipment.[3]
Concept
[edit]The Scholars is a rock opera and concept album that features a cast of characters.[4][5] Its storyline takes place at a fictional college named "Parnassus University", which is home to "students and staff whose travails illuminate a loose narrative of life, death, and rebirth".[6] The first single from the album, "Gethsemane", follows a protagonist named "Rosa".[4] The album also draws inspirations from a variety of sources, including Shakespeare, Mozart, classical opera, various Biblical and religious texts and albums such as Tommy by The Who and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie.[7][8] Themes of the album include "yearning, youth, and religious anxiety".[9]
Release
[edit]Promotion for the album began on February 18, 2025 with an online alternate reality game-like "webquest" hosted on the Car Seat Headrest website.[2] Users were able to solve puzzles themed around school subjects like science or mathematics in order to unlock snippets of an unreleased song. New puzzles were added regularly, which culminated in the full version of the track "Gethsemane" and the album cover for The Scholars being revealed on February 28.[10] On March 4, 2025, "Gethsemane" premiered on BBC Radio 6, and was officially released as the album's lead single on streaming services, alongside the official album announcement and pre-order.[11] The song was accompanied with a music video directed by Andrew Wonder, described as a "black-and-white short film".[12]
The album is scheduled for release on May 2, 2025 through Matador Records; five years and one day from the release of Making a Door Less Open.[13] Physical deluxe versions of the album will include an bonus CD, titled Scholars: Early Hack, containing nineteen demos from The Scholars' recording sessions.[8][14] A "conservatively planned" tour in support of the album was also announced, scheduled to start on May 16, 2025, and ending on November 1, 2025.[15] The band aimed to space out their live shows to be considerate of Toledo's health.[15]
Track listing
[edit]All songs are written by Car Seat Headrest.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "CCF (I'm Gonna Stay with You)" | 8:11 |
| 2. | "Devereaux" | 4:30 |
| 3. | "Lady Gay Approximately" | 3:47 |
| 4. | "The Catastrophe (Good Luck with That, Man)" | 5:28 |
| 5. | "Equals" | 4:11 |
| 6. | "Gethsemane" | 10:51 |
| 7. | "Reality" | 11:14 |
| 8. | "Planet Desperation" | 18:52 |
| 9. | "True/False Lover" | 3:28 |
| Total length: | 70:32 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "TOTT1" | 1:20 |
| 11. | "Epops" | 4:05 |
| 12. | "TOTT2" | 1:35 |
| 13. | "World War" | 6:37 |
| 14. | "World War TV" | 1:58 |
| 15. | "Say My Name" | 1:19 |
| 16. | "Zebedee Dirt" | 4:59 |
| 17. | "Fallen in the Mud" | 1:57 |
| 18. | "Old Encino" | 3:30 |
| 19. | "Harmonics" | 1:56 |
| 20. | "Catastrophe" | 5:36 |
| 21. | "I Am Yours" | 1:04 |
| 22. | "Jury Duty" | 1:47 |
| 24. | "0t0 2" | 1:52 |
| 25. | "Reality 0t0" | 0:56 |
| 26. | "False Life Lived" | 7:47 |
| 27. | "Black Match" | 7:03 |
| 28. | "TOTT1point2" | 4:00 |
| Total length: | 126:28 | |
Notes:
- "CCF (I'm Gonna Stay with You)" interpolates lyrics from "Il est né, le divin Enfant", traditional
- "Lady Gay Approximately" adapts elements from "Lady Gay", traditional
- "Planet Desperation" interpolates lyrics from "Amazing Grace", written by John Newton
- "True/False Lover" interpolates lyrics from "Scarborough Fair", traditional
Personnel
[edit]Credits adapted from the vinyl liner notes:[16]
Car Seat Headrest
- Will Toledo – vocals, piano, organ, wurlitzer, "some rhythm guitar"
- Andrew Katz – drums, auxiliary percussion, vocals (track 8)
- Ethan Ives – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lead vocals (track 7, parts of track 8)
- Seth Dalby – bass, synth and drum programming, group vocals on (track 8)
Additional musicians
- Arps – french horn (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8)
- Chester the Geroo – voice sample (track 9)
- Voxxy – voice sample (track 9)
- Voxxy's mother – voice sample (track 9)
- d0ghead – sonic textures (track 6), group vocals (track 8)
- Scurrow T. Oat – accordion (tracks 1, 2, 7)
- James Ostrander – clarinet (track 6)
- John McRae – claps (track 9)
- Andy Zicari – trumpet (tracks 1, 7)
Production
- Will Toledo – production, mixing
- John McRae – engineering, mixing
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Cate Wurtz – artwork
- Kai Becker – front cover photo, additional photos
- Mateo Brooks – additional photos
- Billis Helg – additional photos
- Mike Zimmerman – layout
References
[edit]- ^ Jones, Abby (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Announce New Album The Scholars: Hear "Gethsemane"". Stereogum. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Vozick-Levinson, Simon (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Come Back From the Brink". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ a b Damara Kelly, Tyler (5 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest announce first album in five years, The Scholars". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ a b Krueger, Jonah (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest announce new album The Scholars, US tour dates". Consequence. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Kurp, Josh (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Announce First Album In Five Years, 'The Scholars'". Uproxx. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Pappis, Konstantinos (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Announce New Album 'The Scholars', Drop New Single". Our Culture. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Redfern, Mark (5 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Announce New Rock Opera Album and Tour, Share 11-Minute New Song "Gethsemane"". Under the Radar. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ a b Epstein-Gross, Casey (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Announce Long-Awaited New Album, The Scholars". Paste. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Keates, Emma (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest's first album in five years is an honest-to-goodness rock opera". AV Club. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Hudson, Alex (19 February 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Is Teasing Something with a Cryptic "WebQuest"". Exclaim!. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Rogers, Karlie (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Announce 'The Scholars,' Share "Gethsemane"". Exclaim!. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Stickler, Jon. "Car Seat Headrest Announce First Studio Album In Five Years 'The Scholars'". Stereoboard. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Jenke, Tyler (5 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Plot Return With New Rock Opera, 'The Scholars'". Billboard. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ Dwyer, Riccardo (5 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest announce new album The Scholars". Hot Press. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ a b Corcoran, Nina (4 March 2025). "Car Seat Headrest Announce Tour and First Album in Five Years, Share Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ "The Scholars". Matador Records. Retrieved 2025-03-05.