Nervous Young Inhumans

"Nervous Young Inhumans"
Single by Car Seat Headrest
from the album Twin Fantasy (Face to Face)
ReleasedJanuary 9, 2018
Genre
Length5:25
3:08 (edit)
LabelMatador
Songwriter(s)Will Toledo
Producer(s)Toledo
Car Seat Headrest singles chronology
"Beach Life-in-Death"
(2017)
"Nervous Young Inhumans"
(2018)
"Cute Thing"
(2018)
Music video
"Nervous Young Inhumans" on YouTube
"Nervous Young Inhumans"
Song by Car Seat Headrest
from the album Twin Fantasy
ReleasedNovember 2, 2011
Genre
Length4:14
LabelSelf-released
Songwriter(s)Toledo
Producer(s)Toledo

"Nervous Young Inhumans" is a song by American rock band Car Seat Headrest, it was first released independently on the bands sixth studio album Twin Fantasy. Seven years later, it would be re-recorded with completely new lyrics[1] and released as the second single in promotion of the bands twelfth studio album Twin Fantasy (Face to Face), a complete re-recording of Twin Fantasy. The re-recording was released alongside a music video.

Music video

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A music video was released alongside the single, it was directed by front man Will Toledo in collaboration with the production company Dos Rios.[2][3][4][5] The video shows multiple split screens of Toledo singing and dancing along with the track.[3][6]

Reception

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2011 version

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Sasha Geffen of Pitchfork noted the spoken word section near the end of the track in which Toledo explains his use of the word "galvanistic" in the chorus, they described the segment as being "deadpanned over a blasé bass line". They also described the guitar riff in the track as "antithetic".[7] The spoken word segment at the end was also stated to be about Mary Shelley's influence on the track by Uproxx, "like a filmmaker embedding his own director’s commentary into the closing credits".[8] Andy Cush of Spin described the track as a "tight and punchy pop song".[5]

2018 version

[edit]

In the same Pitchfork review by Sasha Geffen, they described the new version as being "among the poppiest songs in Toledo’s catalog". Furthermore, they state that of all of the tracks on Twin Fantasy, "Nervous Young Inhumans" would benefit the most from the "new polish". One notable change to the track they point out included the guitar riff, in which "Toledo swaps out the original’s anemic guitar riff for a sparkling, robust tone that throws a glam rock sheen on his fevered power-pop." Due to the higher fidelity, they described the track as sounding a lot like The Killers, "though he stops just short of adopting Brandon Flowers’ vocal bombast". Elaborating on the glam rock comparison, they state that if this is glam rock, "it's the shyest glam possible, a tortured internal monologue screamed beneath a broken disco ball". The review also describes the lyrics as being about "remembering what it felt like to want to dance with someone long after the party's over".[7]

Andy Cush of Spin described the re-working as being "one of the most immediate things" Toledo has released so far.[5] In a review of Twin Fantasy (Face to Face), Collin Brennan of Consequence named "Nervous Young Inhumans" as one of the three essential tracks.[9] Hannah Vettese of Record Collector noted the track as being one of the most changed and fleshed out tracks on the album when compared to the original.[10]

Personnel

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2018 version

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Adapted from Bandcamp.[11]

Car Seat Headrest

  • Will Toledo
  • Seth Dalby – bass
  • Ethan Ives – guitar
  • Andrew Katz – drums

Additional musicians

  • Adam Stilson – various sounds

Featured performances

  • Will Toledo – "the nonbeliever"
  • Andrew Katz – "1traitdanger"
  • Hojin "Stella" Jung – "the artist"
  • Reesa Mallen – "Margot"

Production

  • Will Toledo – production, mixing
  • Adam Stilson – engineering, mixing
  • Jason Ward – mastering

Charts

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Peak chart performance for "Nervous Young Inhumans"
Charts (2018) Peak

position

Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[12] 44

References

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  1. ^ Hann, Michael (2018-02-16). "Car Seat Headrest: Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) review – striking remake with extra oomph". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  2. ^ Springs, Western; Auckland. "Car Seat Headrest Unveil Video 'Nervous Young Inhumans'". UnderTheRadarNZ. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  3. ^ a b Car Seat Headrest - "Nervous Young Inhumans". Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via www.youtube.com.
  4. ^ "New Car Seat Headrest video: Nervous Young Inhumans | Glorious Noise". gloriousnoise.com. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  5. ^ a b c Cush, Andy (January 9, 2018). "Carseat Headrest Announce New Rerecorded Version of Twin Fantasy, Share "Nervous Young Inhumans"". Spin. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  6. ^ Oliver, Will (2018-01-15). "Car Seat Headrest - "Nervous Young Inhumans"". We All Want Someone To Shout For. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  7. ^ a b "Car Seat Headrest: "Nervous Young Inhumans"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  8. ^ "A Guide To All Of Car Seat Headrest's Pre-Fame Albums (All 11 Of Them)". UPROXX. 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  9. ^ "Album Review: Car Seat Headrest Blazes Forward by Looking Back on Twin Fantasy (Face to Face)". 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  10. ^ "Twin Fantasy - Record Collector Magazine". Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  11. ^ "Twin Fantasy, by Car Seat Headrest". Car Seat Headrest. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  12. ^ "Car Seat Headrest | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-04-10.