After accepting my offer to the fictional Parnassus University (despite almost flunking out of its WebQuest), the first semester has finally rolled around with the release of The Scholars, the most conceptual record from Car Seat Headrest — Will Toledo, Ethan Ives, Andrew Katz and Seth Dalby — yet.
Speaking with Exclaim!, Toledo shared that The Scholars was influenced by his own recent spiritual revelations, finding himself rethinking and deconstructing past institutional frameworks that he had previously accepted without question. These discoveries reveal themselves the theatrics of each track, serving as vignettes for the characters that attend the university, and shedding the traditional bildungsroman-nature of Teens of Denial and Twin Fantasy for something more shadowy.
Although conceptually rich, the lyrical storytelling of The Scholars never feels alienating. Whether or not you follow along, the lyrics sink their teeth in and refuse to let go, the indentations everlasting. From the warmth of the horns blooming throughout the anthemic opening track "CCF (I'm Gonna Stay with You)," the trembling synths of "Gethsemane" and the haunting, cautionary folk ballad of "Lady Gay Approximately," each song weaves together a rich tapestry that fully envelops you with every listen.
Having myself graduated from university a year ago, The Scholars feels both bittersweet and cathartic. On "Reality," Toledo sings, "Muttering BLID to get me through the next 12 minutes," referencing the second track from Twin Fantasy; it would take me exactly one "Beach-Life-in-Death" to walk from my apartment to my job while I was in school. Amongst the rock opera peers it honours so earnestly, Car Seat Headrest's The Scholars earns its degree with flying colours — no matter your degree of connection.