It would not be controversial to say that Car Seat Headrest have established themselves as titans of the current indie rock scene. Starting as lead singer Will Toledo's solo project, the band has earned a large and dedicated fanbase thanks to their carefully-crafted yet DIY sound, layered with introspective lyrics and vulnerable songwriting, eccentric live shows, and a slow but steady output of albums since the project's debut in 2010.
Will Toledo is no stranger to re-recording albums. Twin Fantasy, the band's cult classic 2011 release, was re-recorded and re-released in 2018 as Twin Fantasy (Face to Face). That album reworks lyrics, sounds, and production choices and is generally beloved by fans, though debate over which version is superior has never really settled.
Teens Of Denial, which celebrated its 10th anniversary on May 20th, is another Car Seat Headrest classic. It's gritty in nature while being tightly produced and more mature compared to previous releases. For the record's anniversary, Will Toledo decided to re-work the album, with production and lyrical changes, as Teens of Denial: Joe's Story. Joe is a character whose story is woven through the original album, and the re-release is intended to retell it from his perspective.
Upon release, the re-recording has not been received warmly by fans. Some of the changes come across as jarring, with listeners noting the removal of all swear words and profanity, along with lyric changes that many perceive as overly sanitized and puritanical.
Fans somewhat teasingly attributed this to Toledo's openly embraced Christian faith. Instagram user @ericagarayy wrote: "Reimagining an angsty teen album through the lens of a puritanical Christian?? it removes all the bite and rawness and honesty of being a gay teen..." User april.chun went further, satirizing the remake with: "Next up: (Fraternal) Twin Fantasy, reimagined as a heterosexual romance."
Fans who saw themselves in the album's explicitly queer themes are left somewhat bewildered by the sudden shift, uncertain whether it reflects a change in Toledo's personal beliefs or is simply an attempt to retell the story from a purely fictional alternative perspective.
Toledo's official explanation for the changes is that the re-recording was written for listeners unfamiliar with the original. Stereogum reported from a spokesperson for Toledo: "When I was making this my only concern was making something for people who had never encountered the album and were hearing it for the first time. I didn't make it for anyone who already knows the album."