Kitchens and Bathrooms

"I can’t ignore the melodies that are in my head. I’ll sit in class and hum and most of the time I don’t take notes because of that. I have a 1982 Panasonic single deck tape recorder that I record ideas on at home and usually I’ll play through a 60-minute tape to work out one song. This stuff is all I think about.” Phil Williams is dedicated to making complicated music. Since Kitchens & Bathrooms started over a half-decade ago, Williams (alongside drummer Lee Penrose and bassist Adrian Murchison) has become obsessed with different time signatures and rhythms. Mainly attributing his exposure to math rock to late-night weed smoking sessions with Chore’s Mike Bell, he’s excited that there has been a recent surge in bands interested in bizarre calculations. "It’s sort of catching on around here these days. Maybe together we can make five/four the new four/four. I don’t understand why people don’t use that time signature constantly. You can still dance to it and it’s just so much more interesting. It’s the best time signature there is.” But don’t be scared off by nerdy music talk. With Vehicles Beyond, the band’s second full-length for Sonic Unyon, Williams and company haven’t forgotten to throw in a couple hooks, a few driving parts and most surprising of all, actual singing. The Don Caballero/Shellac influence is still present but it’s nicely complemented with Sunny Day Real Estate-style crooning and grandiose gesturing à la Golden Lake Diner. "We’ve all learned how to play music in this band. We had just picked up the instruments when we started Kitchens & Bathrooms so we’ve developed our skills together. I used to just scream over the easy parts because that’s all I could do. I always wanted the melodies; I just didn’t know how to get to them before. I still sing over the easy parts on this record but the vocal lines are better. Next album I think I’ll try to sing over the hardest parts.”