Indie-rock at this point in time is a scattered and random thing. Nobody knows exactly what it is anymore and nevertheless many bands are strictly defined under it. Will Toledo, Car Seat Headrest’s frontman and main songwriter, is probably aware of this situation, and he creates indie-rock as pure as it was back in its better days and gives it a much needed new life.

Proof enough is Twin Fantasy, the band’s newest release, a re-make or re-imagining of an album Toledo released back in 2011, when his project consisted of Bandcamp-only albums. The album justifies its own existence by showcasing Car Seat Headrest’s unrelentless blend of guitars and drums, with Toledo’s unique songwriting never losing the weight it has.

Joined by Seth Dalby in bass, Ethan Ives on guitar and Andrew Katz on drums, Will Toledo has given a new perspective to an album that was already beloved by his internet era fans. It’s safe to say that the decision was not a commercial scheme. Even not having listened to the original versions, these songs claim your attention without pretending to be something else. For example, the second song in the album, a 13-minute, three-part opus called ‘Beach-Life in Death’. The track is literally three songs in one, each related to the other and still with its own personality. Somehow, it never lets you go.

The better moments in the album are those where the band seem to have fun, just for the sake of having fun. Songs like ‘Nervous Young Inhumans’ and ‘Cute Thing‘, with their powerful choruses and pummeling drums are attractive just for the pure-rock aesthetic. The first’s propelling drums and synths give Toledo’s voice a strong support, and despite its spoken-word outro, the lyrics are strong enough for it to have a strong finish.

A kind-of concept album, Twin Fantasy‘s lyrics deal with being in love in young adulthood and all of its complications and consequences. For example in the fun and upbeat ‘Sober to Death’s chorus, Toledo sings: ‘Take your hands off your neck and hold on the ghost of my body/You know that good lives make bad stories’, saying his beloved one to stop being sad and remeber him, because lives without conflict may be not worth it. And the end of the same chorus he shouts: ‘We were wrecks before we crashed into each other’, meaning maybe that despite everything they’ve lived, they were meant to be together.

In the aforementioned ‘Beach-Life in Death’ and in the 16-minute progressive opus ‘Famous Prophets (Stars)’, a phrase is repeated: ‘The ocean washed over your grave’. In a Tumblr post, Will Toledo explains that it means that you can’t always bury your feelings for someone else, even if they’re long gone. This can serve as analogy for Car Seat Headrest’s new role in the indie-rock scene. A substantial amount of time after the genre was in its prime, the band are not afraid and show that what made the genre interesting in the first place can’t be forgotten that easily.

Twin Fantasy may not be an album that portrays a new phase in the band’s history, but it’s hard to make an album that’s not new sound this essential, and the fact that they achieve it, it’s excellent proof that Car Seat Headrest are a talented rock band with something to say, and you may have to pay them more attention in the future. Just sayin’.