Relentless heat Saturday afternoon engulfed Zilker Park as the Austin City Limits Music Festival continued in full swing. A crowd clad mostly in black gathered at the T-Mobile Stage, with spirits lifting as the alternative lo-fi four-piece, Car Seat Headrest, took the stage.
“Keep drinking water, keep breathing and we’ll keep you nice and hot,” lead singer Will Toledo said.
Car Seat Headrest played with precision, sonically nailing each track. While fans eagerly received the music, singing along and calling out love for the members, the group provided a lackluster performance of truly great music. Each new song delivered a tender vocal performance by Toledo, paired with little to look at on stage aside from cartoonish visuals that replicated the stagnant performance on the big screen.
Releasing their newest album, The Scholars, in May, Car Seat Headrest spent much of the set playing new songs, such as the opener “CCF (I’m Gonna Stay With You)” followed by “The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man).”
“This one’s called ‘The Colossus,’ and it’s newer than our new album,” Toledo said.
Slower tempo upheld persistent guitar on “The Colossus,” with the “newer than new track” first making an appearance on Toledo’s Patreon before finding its way into the band’s setlist.
Throughout the set, Toledo’s raspy vocals translated from earbuds to the ACL stage beautifully, delivering every heartbreaking, wistful lyric with expertise. The highlight of the performance took root during “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales.” Illustrating Car Seat Headrest at their best, the popular ballad allowed Toledo’s unique vocals to wash over the crowd, causing an outpour of love and cheers from the listeners.
“In the back seat of my heart / My love tells me I’m a mess / I couldn’t get the car to start / Left my keys somewhere in the mess,” Toledo sang.
The earnest delivery on “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales” provided the perfect complement to Toledo’s stoic demeanor, one that often felt out of place in the dynamic festival setting. With the crowd bringing more energy to the performance than the band, the set felt slightly flat under the glare of the hot sun.
Closing out their set, Car Seat Headrest performed “Gethsemane,” returning to their latest album to round out the show. The nearly eleven-minute track allowed for musical exploration through fuzzy guitar and more yearning from Toledo as he sang over and over, “You can love again if you try again.”
Sonically, Car Seat Headrest felt tight, with standout moments found in stellar guitar solos from bassist Ethan Ives and earnest vocals from Toledo. For megafans, Car Seat Headrest’s musicianship delivered, bringing emo-inspired sounds to ACL. For others less familiar with the band, the set may have felt out of place, competing with dynamic performances by Spacey Jane and MARINA.
Opting out of their more popular tracks, including their magnum opus “Sober to Death,” Car Seat Headrest departed the stage a couple of minutes early with no encore, leaving the audience hungry for more. While a festival stage may not be the ideal home for Car Seat Headrest, the members’ musicianship proved undeniable, making for a confusing and slightly underwhelming ACL appearance.
