ALBUM REVIEW: Car Seat Headrest - The Scholars

Through prog and awe, CSH tell a tale of... I'm still not sure what.

May 13, 2025

What great rock opera/concept album actually makes sense? It’s a rarity for one to listen to something like The Wall or The Black Parade and glean every detail the writer intended for you to hear upon first listen. The Scholars, the first album in five years from Will Toledo’s beloved project, takes this idea a step further and gives you absolutely no hints as to what the plot is at any moment through its lyrics. Something something character does this, something something Parnassus University that. It’s a nonexistent narrative; at least the band’s return to their indie rock roots (with a few wrinkles) keeps things mostly together. It’s not quite a return to form for Car Seat Headrest but an imperfect, ambitious effort with highlights and lowlights abound.

Eschewing much of the synthesizer explorations that made Making A Door Less Open a misfire, The Scholars hits its stride when mixing Car Seat Headrest’s indie origins with some of the best elements of the rock operas that clearly inspired it. Opener “CCF (I’m Gonna Stay With You)” earns its 8-minute length by building itself up with broad pianos, clattering percussion and more. Hell, there aren’t even any lyrics in English until almost 3 minutes in, but who cares when it sounds this good? The addicting chorus of “Devereaux” and the breakneck pace of “The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That)” call back to the band’s seminal records like Twin Fantasy and Teens of Denial. I wouldn’t mind a full CSH album full of songs like the brisk, catchy “True/False Lover”. All of these songs bring in elements of prog rock a la Pink Floyd or Yes, lengthening sections for emphasis that, if not felt in the narrative, are impactful on the production side of things. The quartet stated that there was a full sense of collaboration between members on both the instrumental and lyrical fronts, and it helps the album’s best songs sound full and complete.

Where things go awry is with the storytelling. Toledo is a good songwriter, and about as good as anyone at deciphering the highs and lows of young adulthood, yet he can’t find any way to distinguish the characters of this story. Songs concern different characters but you’d be forgiven to think there’s no overarching plot. Hell, a lot of the detail of the album’s plot was left to liner notes and online AR games. The concept of telling a story through multiple mediums is fascinating, but the main conduit for people to discover the other elements has to drive people there; this attempted story just doesn’t. The Scholars can suffer from the law of diminishing returns in its second half. “Gethsemane” is a proggy 10-minute epic, the band’s answer to The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. So why do they try to make that song three times over? The following “Reality” and “Planet Desperation” lengthen the runtime and fill it with little of the magic that made “Gethsemane” work. The latter track is extremely bloated at almost 19 minutes, far too long for a song like this to be when it’s not explaining any particular points of the plot well.

What to make of an album whose two main units are as disparately related as they are on The Scholars? Ultimately the return of Car Seat Headrest’s signature sound is enough for me to enjoy it. Individual songs function fine on their own; if you were to stumble across one on shuffle, one could jam out with ease. But you’d never have any idea that it was part of a bigger picture through lyrics alone. If you’re going to make a rock opera, why commit so much to the “rock” part but not to the “opera” part? It doesn’t sink the record, but Toledo could’ve given these surely-interesting characters more room to live. The band is still evolving after its classics phase, and while those kinks aren’t entirely worked out, one can still some enjoyment if you pay attention in these classes.

Verdict: 7.1/10