get when making music, my impulse is to make it a bit little stranger." "Texture is a crucial element for us; it's often the starting point for songwriting. It's like choosing a palette: we started with one synthesizer on one setting with the vocalists, and then added bass, then added guitar," says Hernandez. "With having all these tools, it's like building up a color scheme." But with six members manning guitar, bass, drums, two synthesizers, and multiple vocals, it takes more work to keep the colors on the palette distinct, something the band has keyed on as they refine the pop aspects of their sound. "Most of the composers I give a shit about, they're very concerned with adding constraints on purpose." "It's largely a function of having more elements that have to work together. The sparser you are, the most freedom you have to add things. It's contradictory: on the one hand, you have more things to choose from, but you also have more constraints," says Bassford. "It's like with capital A 'art music,' most of the composers I give a shit about, they're very concerned with adding constraints on purpose. I think that's what's happening as we've moved in a pop direction: we're exploring everything we all bring to the table." The most noticeable constraint is the use of vocal harmonies between Hernandez, guitarist Becca Kauffman, and synthesizer player Felicia Douglass. "Focusing on harmony was definitely a decision," says Hernandez. "In the beginning, the idea was finding what