“If grief had a brass section and a bike bell, it might sound like this.”

I didn’t hear this album when it came out.

In fact, it’s taken me three whole years to listen to it. I’ll admit — that’s kind of crazy, considering how highly regarded it is. It topped basically every 2022 list and has already been canonised as a classic.

It’s not like I was avoiding it — it just never landed in my rotation. At that point in my life, I was deep in my Weezer grind. Between that and The Living Tombstone, I wasn’t exactly reaching for art rock epics. And I knew this album was sad. Not Beach House sad — which is dreamy, manageable, soft lighting sadness — but “listen with your eyes closed and stare at the ceiling for an hour” sad. And I was not emotionally prepared for that. I was incredibly happy with hyperpop, thank you very much.

But now that their next album is on the way, I figured I should finally catch up.

Song name	Rating
Intro	—–
Chaos Space Marine	9.3
Concorde	8.6
Bread Song	7.4
Good Will Hunting	9
Haldern	7.9
Mark’s Theme	8.1
The Place Where He Inserted the Blade	10
Snow Globes	8.7
Basketball Shoes	9

(I love rating tracks individually. I’m a recovering anti-album listener, after all.)

To start — it wasn’t as sad as I thought it was going to be. Like, sure, it’s emotional, but I’d actually describe it as whiny more than sad. And that’s not a bad thing. The whining is what gives it texture. Isaac’s voice made this album — the way he sings isn’t just fragile, it’s full of longing and what honestly felt like anger at times. It’s frustrated. Tired. Desperate to be heard. But not sad in the way people always talk about it. Not in a way that made me want to cry — in a way that made me tilt my head and go oh, okay. He’s spiralling.

And although The Place Where He Inserted the Blade got close, this album does not get a cry count. Not today!!!

Might be a little controversial, but this is what I think Car Seat Headrest wants to be. Especially on “Chaos Space Marine” — it immediately reminded me of “Bodies.” That kind of messiness that’s meant to feel raw and sprawling and emotional, but where this actually lands. It’s unhinged but focused. Melodramatic, but earned. (I like car seat headrest this is not a diss, mwah love you guys)

For my favourite song… I fear it might be the obvious choice. The Place Where He Inserted the Blade was insane. It literally made me sit up and look at my record player just so I could say “holy shit” out loud. I got goosebumps — and it wasn’t even a sad thing. It was just that it was so fucking good.

I’m very harsh on first listens. I rarely rate 10s right away. But there was absolutely no possible way I could give this anything else. I would actively be lying to myself.

“Good Will Hunting” might feature the most whiny, pathetic singing I’ve ever heard — and I mean that as a compliment. It’s so good. Like stupidly good. I’m literally listening to it as I write this, and I still can’t get over the voice on this man. The tone, the phrasing, the drama — it just works.

Also, this was the moment I finally realised how insane the brass is across this whole album. Which is wild considering… it’s been there the whole time.

This is where i got to experience it for a full 12 minutes with basketball shoes which honestly did break me a little on the not sad front. man this shit was haunting, it was stunning and beautiful and everything i would listen too if i was going through the most heartbreaking break up i have ever experienced, and if I wasn’t so happy with my boyfriend I’m sure I would’ve roleplayed in my head to feel it on a more raw level. And it’s not even about a break up!!! How is this man sounding this broken when he’s singing about a dream he had about charli xcx and his basketball shoes??

If I had to pick a least favourite, it’d be Bread Song. I get that people love it, but it just didn’t do much for me. I know it’s meant to be restrained and intimate, but to me, it felt like it dragged without ever really landing. The whole “don’t eat your toast in the bed” thing kind of took me out of it — like, I get it metaphorically, but also… okay. It felt like the emotional weight was there, but not the momentum. I didn’t skip it, but I also didn’t feel much from it.

To finish up, it lived up to the hype it had for me because it wasn’t the album i was expecting, i was expecting to be crying, throwing up and screaming in bed but instead i kinda just stared at my record player in silence and sometimes looked up when i thought a tear may slip. Hauntingly beautiful album and I am so glad it graced my ears, and that i was born in this lifetime to hear it.

Lyric Breakdown

“She is the weather / I am the conversation.”

There’s something so weirdly lopsided about that line that makes it hit. Like… she’s unpredictable, atmospheric, everywhere — and he’s just trying to keep talking through it. She’s shifting, natural, maybe even beautiful. He’s the awkward, stammering response. It feels like trying to narrate a storm while it’s happening. You’re never going to catch up.

It’s one of those lyrics where the first time you hear it, you’re like “oh, okay, that’s nice,” and then the third time you’re like “wait.” Because you realise it’s not about trying to fix anything. It’s about trying to keep up. And failing.

And then the final verse completely unravels everything.

“Your generous loan to me, your crippling interest.”

Insane line. That’s not love, that’s debt. The kind of emotional exchange where the longer you hold onto it, the worse it gets. You can tell he’s not writing from inside the relationship — he’s writing from the aftermath, when everything is still echoing and sticky and raw.

Also yes — this is absolutely the “Isaac wets the bed thinking about Charli XCX” song, and somehow, that’s what makes it so devastating. It’s both ridiculous and so real. That’s the whole album, honestly.

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Don’t take anything said in these reviews seriously, they’re just a little bit of fun:)