Virginia indie-rock outfit Car Seat Headrest are making their grand return with an even more grandiose record, announcing new rock opera The Scholars as their forthcoming LP.

The new record will arrive on May 2 via Matador, arriving exactly five years and one day since their last studio release, Making a Door Less Open. According to a press release, the narrative of the nine-track LP is set at the fictional college campus Parnassus University, focusing on “students and staff whose travails illuminate a loose narrative of life, death, and rebirth.”

The forthcoming record is previewed by the release of 11-minute single “Gethsemane,” which itself is accompanied by an Andrew Wonder-directed visual.

“Rosa studies at the medical school of Parnassus University,” the band explains of the lead single. “After an experience bringing a medically deceased patient back to life, she begins to regain powers suppressed since childhood, of healing others by absorbing their pain. Each night, instead of dreams, she encounters the raw pain and stories of the souls she touches throughout the day. Reality blurs, and she finds herself taken deep into secret facilities buried beneath the medical school, where ancient beings that covertly reign over the college bring forth their dark plans.”

First formed in 2010 as a solo project of frontman Will Toledo, Car Seat Headrest shared a handful of self-released records before signing to Matador and expanding to a full-band setup in 2015. 

2018’s Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) served as the band’s breakthrough, becoming their first (and so far, only) album to chart within the top half of the Billboard 200, reaching No. 92. It also charted within the top five of the Independent and Alternative Albums charts, and reached No. 11 on the Top Rock Albums. Their latest release, 2020’s Making a Door Less Open, hit No. 184 on the Billboard 200 and reached No. 22 on the Independent Albums chart.

The release of The Scholars puts to rest a protracted period of creativity and touring for Car Seat Headrest, who had fully intended to return sooner with new music. However, the impact of long COVID necessitated the cancellation of tour dates, and the downtime Toledo experienced as a result led to a “dedication to following spiritual practices,” which informs the new album.

Car Seat Headrest will also be launching a series of North American tour dates following the release of their new record, with nine shows currently scheduled between May and November.

Car Seat Headrest 2025 Tour Dates

May 16 – Kilby Block Party, Salt Lake City, UT
June 7 – Governors Ball, New York, NY
June 28 – The Anthem, Washington  DC
July 12 – Mission Ballroom, Denver, CO
July 26 – Salt Shed, Chicago IL
Aug. 8 – The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA
Sept. 12 – Highmark Skyline at the Mann Center Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 27 – MGM Music Hall, Boston MA
Nov. 1 – The Fox, Oakland CA