Kitchens of Distinction

Kitchens of Distinction (sometimes shortened colloquially to KoD) are an English rock band formed in Tooting, South London in 1986. The trio consist of lead singer and bassist Patrick Fitzgerald, guitarist Julian Swales and drummer Daniel Goodwin.

The band were retrospectively considered part of the shoegaze subgenre and released four studio albums before disbanding in 1996. In September 2012, Patrick Fitzgerald announced Kitchens of Distinction's reunion, followed by the 2013 release of their fifth album, their first in 19 years.

Kitchens of Distinction did not attain the commercial success or widespread recognition of their other shoegaze contemporaries, as Fitzgerald was openly gay and touched upon the topic often in his lyrics. Much press coverage pigeonholed the band's image as a result of his sexuality even as Fitzgerald expressed his distaste for Kitchens of Distinction being labeled a "gay band".

History

Beginnings to break-up (1986–1996)

Dan Goodwin (drums) met Julian Swales (guitar) at college in 1980, and Swales met Patrick Fitzgerald (vocals/bass guitar) at a party in 1985. The trio began rehearsing together that same year, taking their name from a company of the same name that specialised in home decor and kitchen and plumbing fixtures, after Swales spotted one of their advertisements on the side of a bus while riding his bike. The Kitchens' first single, "The Last Gasp Death Shuffle" (which featured Swales on lead vocals and bass, as well as guitar) was recorded in just one day on an eight-track in a Kennington basement, and was released in December 1987 on the band's own Gold Rush Records. It was named a 'Single of the Week' in NME, and led to the band signing with British indie label One Little Indian Records (OLI); around this time, Fitzgerald – a medical doctor – put his career on hold to devote himself fully to the band. Their first singles for OLI, 1988's "Prize" and 1989's "The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule", made it onto the "NME Writers' 100 Best Indie Singles Ever" list, published on 25 July 1992.

Their first full-length album, Love Is Hell, was released in April 1989. Fitzgerald's impassioned, wordy, often bluntly personal vocals careened over what sounded like a mass of swirling guitars, though the band only had one guitarist. Swales' chiming, effects-laden style of playing drew him comparisons to the guitarists of the Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, and A.R. Kane. KOD's melodic yet abstract sound was a precursor of the shoegaze scene of the late 1980s/early 1990s. An example was at the Bull & Gate in Kentish Town on 6 August 1990, where the band appeared in drag and played ABBA, David Bowie, and Bauhaus covers.

The group signed with A&M Records in the US in 1990, and went into the studio with producer Hugh Jones. Their second album Strange Free World was released in February 1991, and spawned some moderately successful A-sides in "Drive that Fast" and "Quick as Rainbows", both of which were very well received by college radio in the US. The band went back into the studio in 1992, again with Jones at the helm, and their third album The Death of Cool came out in August that year; it was named in honour of the passing of Miles Davis, who had recently died, and whose influential album titled The Birth of the Cool had been released in 1950. A&M balked at the band's choice of "Breathing Fear" for the first single, due to its touchy subject matter (gay bashing), so "Smiling" became the album's initial single in the US. The band toured extensively, including a high-profile slot opening for their US label-mate Suzanne Vega. In retrospect, Swales said that the tour was a "complete waste of time and a disaster from start to finish" because of the mismatch between Vega's soft rock stylings and Kitchens of Distinction's loudness. The reunited trio of Fitzgerald, Swales, and Goodwin released their fifth studio album Folly, their first new album in 19 years, on 30 September 2013.

Lost Girls' long-awaited album was released in October 2014 by 3 Loop Music on vinyl, download and as a 2CD expanded edition (featuring demos and extra tracks).

Members

Patrick Fitzgerald (born 7 April 1964, Basel, Switzerland) – vocals, bass guitar
Julian Swales (born 23 March 1962, Cwmbran, Wales) – guitar, vocals (occasionally)
Daniel Goodwin (born 22 July 1962, London, England) – drums, percussion

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable"

!rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:250px;"| Album details

!| Peak chart positions

!style="width:3em;font-size:75%"| UK

|1989

|Love Is Hell

Released: April 1989
Label: One Little Indian (TPLP9)
Formats: CD, LP, Cassette

| style="text-align:center;"|—

|1991

|Strange Free World

Released: 18 March 1991
Label: One Little Indian (TPLP19)
Formats: CD, LP, Cassette

| style="text-align:center;"|45

|1992

|The Death of Cool

Released: 3 August 1992
Label: One Little Indian (TPLP39)
Formats: CD, LP, Cassette

| style="text-align:center;"|72

|1994

|Cowboys and Aliens

Released: 3 October 1994
Label: One Little Indian (TPLP53)
Formats: CD, LP

| style="text-align:center;"|—

|2013

|Folly

Released: 30 September 2013
Label: 3 Loop Music
Formats: CD, LP

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| colspan="16" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Compilations

{| class="wikitable"

!rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:250px;"| Album details

!| Peak chart positions

!style="width:3em;font-size:75%"| UK

! style="text-align:center;"|Album

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"The Last Gasp Death Shuffle"/"Escape"

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|December 1987

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Gold Rush (GRR3)

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|7"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| style="text-align:left;"|Non-album single

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Prize"

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|October 1988

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|One Little Indian (12TP)

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|12"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|Love Is Hell

|- style="vertical-align:top;"

| style="text-align:left; "|"The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule"

| style="text-align:left; "|May 1989

| style="text-align:left; "|One Little Indian (19TP)

| style="text-align:left; "|12"

| style="text-align:center; "|—

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Elephantine EP

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|October 1989

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|One Little Indian (29TP)

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|CD, 12"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| style="text-align:left;"|Non-album single

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Quick as Rainbows"

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|March 1990

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|One Little Indian (43TP)

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|CD, 12"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|18

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"|Strange Free World

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Gorgeous Love"1

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|December 1990

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|A&M

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Promo CD, promo 12"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

|- style="vertical-align:top;"

| style="text-align:left; "|Drive that Fast EP

| style="text-align:left; "|January 1991

| style="text-align:left; "|One Little Indian (49TP)

| style="text-align:left; "|CD, 7", 12"

| style="text-align:center; "|93

| style="text-align:center; "|12

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Breathing Fear"

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|May 1992

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|One Little Indian (59TP)

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|CD, 7", 12"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4"|The Death of Cool

|- style="vertical-align:top;"

| style="text-align:left; "|"When in Heaven"

| style="text-align:left; "|August 1992

| style="text-align:left; "|One Little Indian (69TP)

| style="text-align:left; "|CD, 12"

| style="text-align:center; "|—

|- style="vertical-align:top;"

| style="text-align:left; "|"Smiling"1

| style="text-align:left; "|September 1992

| style="text-align:left; "|A&M

| style="text-align:left; "|Promo 12"

| style="text-align:center; "|—

| style="text-align:center; "|15

|- style="vertical-align:top;"

| style="text-align:left; "|"4 Men"1

| style="text-align:left; "|October 1992

| style="text-align:left; "|A&M

| style="text-align:left; "|Promo CD

| style="text-align:center; "|—

| style="text-align:center; "|28

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Now It's Time to Say Goodbye"

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|September 1994

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|One Little Indian (111TP)

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|CD, 12"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|86

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|Cowboys and Aliens

|- style="vertical-align:top;"

| style="text-align:left; "|"Cowboys and Aliens"1

| style="text-align:left; "|January 1995

| style="text-align:left; "|A&M

| style="text-align:left; "|Promo CD

| style="text-align:center; "|—

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Feel My Genie"/"To Love a Star"2

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|May 1996

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Fierce Panda (NING 19)

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|CD, 7"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| style="text-align:left;"|Non-album single

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Japan to Jupiter"1

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|September 2013

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|3 Loop Music

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Promo CD

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|Folly

|- style="vertical-align:top;"

| style="text-align:left; "|"Extravagance"

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|April 2014

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|3 Loop Music

| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|10"

| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|—

| colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Notes:

1 Promotional-only releases.
2 "Feel My Genie"/"To Love a Star" was released under the name Kitchens O.D.

Non-album tracks

"Pastor Niemöller's Lament (Never Again)" – found on [ The Disagreement of the People], a compilation album of artists against the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (November 1995, Cooking Vinyl)

Cover songs

"White Horses" (1994; B-side to the UK single "Now It's Time to Say Goodbye" and the US single "Cowboys and Aliens") – A cover of the theme song from the 1960s television series The White Horses (originally performed by Jackie Lee; a UK top 10 hit during April 1968). Featuring a rare lead vocal by Swales, it was first included on a free cassette given away with a UK music paper before being issued as a B-side.

References

External links

Trouser Press entry for KOD