Car Seat Headrest return with 'The Scholars', a bold new rock opera unlike anything they’ve created before. Their first studio album in five years, 'The Scholars' presents a loose narrative of life, death, and transformation, unfolding within the fictional campus of Parnassus University.
To introduce the ambitious project, the band has released ‘Gethsemane’, an 11-minute, multi-part epic accompanied by a gripping visual, directed by Andrew Wonder. The track encapsulates the spiritual journey and yearning at the heart of the new album, setting the tone for what promises to be a boundary-pushing release.
'The Scholars' follows students and staff at Parnassus University, their stories intertwining in a mythic, operatic exploration of existence, power, and human frailty. The band has introduced one of the album’s central figures, Rosa, through the lens of ‘Gethsemane’:
“Rosa studies at the medical school of Parnassus University. After an experience bringing a medically deceased patient back to life, she begins to regain powers suppressed since childhood—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.”
Watch the new video for ‘Gethsemane’ in the player below.
