At this point, you’re not considered a rock band until you’ve tried “going electronic”. It’s a tale as old as time, with examples as iconic as U2 and Radiohead, where a collection of beloved guitar-smiths bin their Stratocasters and buy an 808 drum machine, often with some muttered insistences that it isn’t just a phase, mom. Newest example: Car Seat Headrest. The lo-fi Matador Records outfit, essentially the one-man-band of Will Toledo, have already found success with their noisy and emotive brand of garage rock, a sound which has taken them from rough Bandcamp demos in 2010 to playing for tens of thousands of people on their 2019 live album Commit Yourself Completely. On LPs like Teens of Denial and Twin Fantasy, they’ve blared passionate ten-minute rockers, screamed lyrics about drugs and boyfriends, and won hearts with their angsty and unpolished style. With their new single “Can’t Cool Me Down”, though, things are different. They’ve nurtured the electro strain which has long been lurking in their sound into a full-blown shift of genre, with results that are as intriguing as they are mixed.
The first thing that puzzles you about “Can’t Cool Me Down” is whether the song actually wants you to dance. All the ingredients are there: the sleek synth riff, the crisp drums, even a selection of Reflektor-esque xylophones that weave through the verses like a primary-school disco track. And yet the energy never builds into something that moves could genuinely be bust over. Instead, there’s a restrained progression from verses to chorus, with some awkward 8-bit melodies that feel almost comedic when compared to the band’s usual assault of guitars. There’s no break, no memorable bassline, and the structure ambles into ambience more than it does climb to a crescendo. The drums only add to the confusion. They’re strangely dry and strangely loud, mixed in such a way that they end up sucking a fair bit of life out of the groove, which – considering that the groove is favoured over any of kind of bass drop – does the track no favours. Once you set aside any ambitious of showing off your moves, though, there is an appeal to be found in the shy, awkward nature of the electronics. They’re not what you’d call convincing, but by avoiding all the extroverted clichés of an electro-pop song, they have an amateur charm that fits in with Car Seat Headrest’s aesthetic. It’s like Columbo’s version of LCD Soundsystem – not energetic enough to make you dance, but shabby enough to make you smile.
It’s interesting that for all the changes to the band’s sound, though, the bits that work best are the bits that sound most familiar. Will’s vocals – capable of switching from quiet anxiety to passionate war-cries within the snap of a snare – are a highlight as always. When he properly gets his shout on, such as in the middle-eights repeated “Hey, we’re not supposed to be here!”, you’re reminded of the kind of hurricane passion the band is so great at whipping up – particularly when a layer of electric guitars get spooned into the mix and for a second you could even be listening to 2018’s wonderful Twin Fantasy re-recording. The song’s biggest weapon is also an old friend: a catchy chorus. Toledo’s always had an ear for an earworm, but this track’s “Oh, water on my brow – can’t cool me down!” is one of the most melodic yet, being the kind of perfectly harmonised hook that will have you pressing the replay button like a mouse hooked up to a dope machine. The melodies work well enough with the electro-beat, and the lyrics also remain in fine form, with Will offering up more tales of anxious drug-use. It’s these recognisable elements, the smart lyrics, the sweet chorus, the wild and emotional vocals, that work best about the song, and they’re suitably freshened, if not actually improved, by the newly synthetic arrangements.
Will has promised that the new album from which this single is released, 1st of May’s “Making a Door Less Open”, will be a mix of new influences that includes du-wop, hip-hop, and EDM. Having one of indie’s most unique voices branch into new sounds is exciting, but if the lead single is anything to go by, the things that we can look forward to most are the things that we’ve heard from him before.
Can’t Cool Me Down by Car Seat Headrest: 7/10
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