Kitchens & Bathrooms
Kitchens & Bathrooms were a Canadian indie math punk rock band based in Hamilton, Ontario. Ongoing members of the band were Phil Williams (guitar, vocals), Lee Penrose (drums, vocals), Adrian Murchison (bass).[1]
Kitchens & Bathrooms | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Genres | Punk rock, Math rock, Independent |
Years active | 1998-2003 |
Labels | Sonic Unyon (CAN) / Forge Again (USA) |
Members | Phil Williams (guitarist, vox) Lee Penrose (drummer, vox) Adrian Murchison (bassist) |
Past members | Marco Bressette (guitarist) Matt David (guitarist, vox) Chris Gallimore (bassist) |
Website | http://www.myspace.com/kitchensandbathrooms |
History
Kitchens & Bathrooms formed in early 1998 in Hamilton as a four piece band. Williams, Penrose and Murchison teamed up with singer and guitarist Matt David. The band released a self-titled EP in 1999.
David wrote much of their early material and features prominently on their 2001 album, Thousand Yard Stare, which was produced by the now deceased Dan Achen, cofounder of Catherine North Studios and guitarist for the Canadian band Junkhouse.[2] The album is melodic, spacey, and heavy-pop with a youthful spirit; most of the songs, whose lyrics portray teenage angst, were written prior to members' 18th birthdays.[3]
David left the band, and for a while Marco Bressette filled in on guitar, but eventually they continued as a three-piece and signed a record deal with Sonic Unyon. The next two releases by Kitchens & Bathrooms were recorded by Daniel L. Burton in Bloomington, Indiana.[4] The first of the two Sonic Unyon releases, 2002's Utter a Sound, with its heavy, melodic tracks and shouted lyrics, was released to mixed reviews at a time when math-rock was gaining popularity in Southern Ontario.[5][6] In 2003 the band released the album Vehicles Beyond, a softer and more focused album. It topped the !earshot National Top 50 chart in August that year.[7]
In October Kitchens & Bathrooms performed in Hamilton with the American band Early Day Miners.[8] The band played their final show at the 2003 Sonic Unyon Christmas Party, a party that they had also played the year prior.[9] on December 12, 2003.[10] They then disbanded.
In 2006 Kitchens & Bathrooms reunited for a single show at The Casbah in their hometown of Hamilton, opening for Don Caballero.[11]
Williams and Murchison went on form the band The Inflation Kills, with Matt Fleming and Nicholas Daleo of fellow Hamilton band Hoosier Poet.[12] The Inflation Kills toured across Canada after releasing one, self-titled, album with TikTokTikTok MUSIC! (distributed by Sonic Unyon). After The Inflation Kills disbanded in the late 2000s, Adrian Murchison went on to form, front, and tour with the band Pneumatic Transit, featuring Hoosier Poet and Inflation Kills drummer Nic Daleo.[13]
Discography
- 2000: Self-Titled Ep
- 2001: Thousand Yard Stare
- 2002: Utter a Sound, Sonic Unyon
- 2003: Vehicles Beyond, Sonic Unyon (CAN), Forge Again (USA)
- kitchens & bathrooms songs appeared on compilation albums here and there during their active years
- Utter a Sound cover art
- Vehicles Beyond cover art
References
- "Kitchens and Bathrooms Vehicles Beyond". Exclaim!, By Neil Haverty Jan 01, 2006
- " Kitchens & Bathrooms: Thousand Yard Stare CD". TapeOp, #23, May/Jun 2001 Reviewed by Roman Sokal
- Sokal, Roman. "Album review: Kitchens & Bathrooms - Thousand Yard Stare". Exclaim Magazine. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- "Early Day Miners Embrace Canada". ChartAttack. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- Haverty, Neil. "Album review: Kitchens and Bathrooms - Utter a Sound". Exclaim Magazine. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- " Kitchens & Bathrooms: Utter A Sound". !earshot, Russell Gragg, Oct 15, 2002
- "The National Top 50For the Week Ending: Tuesday, August 12, 2003", !earshot
- "Kitchens & Bathrooms / Early Day Miners / Rick White / A Northern Chorus The Underground, Hamilton ON - October 2, 2003". Exclaim!, By Roman Sokal, Nov 01, 2003
- "Sonic Unyone Wish You a Merry Christmas". ChartAttack. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- Despres, Shawn. "LIVE: Sonic Unyon Christmas Show". ChartAttack. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- "Kitchens and Bathrooms Reforms for at Least One Show". ChartAttack. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- "The Inflation Kills". Soulshine, Jaclyn Arndt
- "Pneumatic Transit on the Road". ChartAttack. Retrieved 5 November 2013.