Kitchens Of Distinction -- S&D//POO/C or D?

If you have to pick absolutely only one to start with, I'd actually go with Strange Free World, if only because once you realize how great that is, The Death of Cool then gives you the joy of listening to something even better. ;-)

Just picked up the new KoD compilation, Capsule: The Best of KOD: 1988-94 which features a smattering of tracks and a bonus disc of demos, live tracks, acoustic tracks and remixes.

Theirs is really kinda a tragic story when you think about it. Four great albums, none of them big sellers. Still, the music here is strikingly emotive, and Julian Swales on guitar at his peak was really the perfect fusion of Dave Gedge and Robin Guthrie.

My favorite track off The Death of Cool, the gorgeously simple "Smiling" is criminally absent here.

A bonus disc, eh? Time for me to seek this out. :-)

This is such a great post. I stared at it for like five minutes.

I actually looked for this today and couldn't find it, which actively pissed me off. I was also looking for the new Mensen album, and couldn't find that, so I'm just going to assume Tower Records is conspiring against me.

Oh, and Tower has now COMPLETELY REMOVED any sign of the existance of KoD, much less a compilation.

I have nothing else to complain about from Tower/Kazaa for today. Thank you for listening.

They do that alot, and it really bugs the shizzat outta me. According to Tower, there never was a Cop Shoot Cop. Bastids!

There's a new one on 23rd and 6th Ave. Southeast corner.

West Village. Go to Record Runner and Rebel Rebel.

Thanks very much for the cd Mr Ned. I are very happy. While looking for the tracklisting I was made even happier by the fact there is reissues & box set action happening. Now I must search out the finer indie stores in the area for such things.

They left out their greatest B-sides! "White Horses" and "Spacedolphins"... :(

Was thinking about them today myself.

I shall make what arrangements I can, Mr. V.

In haplessly furrowing my brow, thinking of what to cover for an impending selection for The New Yorker's "Nightlife" section, I couldn't help noticing that uber-meh nightclub, Satalia (37 W.26th street) is playing host to an act dubbed FRUIT on July 21. Could this be that same Fruit that Patrick of the KoD started? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Jebus. Did I really say that?

vast rofflage at the spinal tap pic!

Patrick's new Stephen Hero album it out, if anyone is still listening. His voice is still great and Julian guests on one track - what a tease!

I've had everything but Love Is Hell for quite a while, and love it all pretty equally. Very consistent band. Still can't seem to track down that first record, though, and I've been looking for years...

So you're saying you need a CDR burn, then.

(Nothing's turned up on Amazon? Odd, it did get a nice rerelease on A&M over here.)

I don't do a lot of online shopping, too impersonal. Maybe it's time to check Amazon/eBay for this one though.

ah yes, Amazon is loaded. i may have to look into that.

Just placed an order for the 2CD version of Capsule, very excited. Are there any key tracks on the b-sides/live/acoustic/etc. disc that I ought to pay extra-special attention to?

Post a tracklisting for that again. There are indeed some spectacular ones.

Full tracklisting at http://wc10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3zfixq8aldhe

Andy K sez:

The first 2500 copies of the set came with a second disc of B-sides and radio-session versions, several of which wouldn't be undeserving of first-disc placement -- see the alternately dreary and blissful storms of "Glittery Dust," and the anti-Thatcher "Margaret's Injection," in particular, along with the 12" (albeit inferior) version of "4 Men."

Yes to all that.

I heard a track on the radio and thought it was Patrick from KOD back and not very good.

It turned out to be "An End Is A Start" by Editors.

Roffles

"Prize" is beautiful.

Indeed it is.

"Do I get a prize..."

Was just listening to the demo version earlier today; because the 3rd time ep was my introduction to them I think I actually even prefer it to the album one.

Hahah, I was listening to the demo yesterday. Mindmeld etc.

Prize was the first song of theirs I heard and it was so good it sort of ruined the rest of their stuff for me.

Doubtless the KoD fans here have already picked up on the surprising amount of live footage that's on youtube, but may as well link just in case. I like to think it's a measure of the love for them that still exists that people lugged video cameras to gigs back in the '90s and are now uploading that footage years later. I went to this show in Brum, so it's extra weird to find it again, and although you can't see much you can *hear* everything:

And then there were the Toilets of Destruction:

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/xxnh0_RileyELFuk_toilets-of-destruction-12oct-91

The Ride cover/parody = roffles.

There's a funny version of 'Prize' there too. WHat was this gig all about then?

They did random shows in this vein under the Toilets of Destruction name in London every so often -- I remember hearing about them at the time. What's nice is hearing how clearly they all become Kitchens songs thanks to the tone of Julian's guitars in particular!

Yeah, very true, and there's always that voice too. I'd normally hate "wacky" stuff like this, but those are pretty endearing clips.

That cover of "Heroes" is great - as you say, Ned, it's unmistakeably Kitchens once Swales gets his guitar all over it.

So I knew absolutely nothing about these guys, had only heard the name a couple times before and, for some reason, had a vague notion that they were most post-punk than shoegaze. Anyway, happened across a $1.99 copy of The Death of Cool and, remembering it being on Ned's 90s list, grabbed it without another thought. OH MY GOD. Fantastic discovery, must find more.

They kind of are more postpunk etc but it's in how you define it. And glad you liked it!

Yeah I can see the influence, but in my mind I was picturing something closer to Josef K (I have no idea where this came from!).

Another great gig from '92, rare *daytime* footage on this occasion. Wish they could have played Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens in such a manner...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYOkZZMy-Eg&feature=channel

remembering it being on Ned's 90s list, grabbed it without another thought. OH MY GOD. Fantastic discovery, must find more.

This seriously happened to me at least a dozen times from 2005-2007 era.

Ha, well, glad to help!

Wow that live clip sounds even better than the record!

I had the same Ned's 90s experiences between about 2000 & 2002.

Tempted to start a "best album from Ned's 136 that I don't already have & love" poll...

listening to the shimmer in the outro of 'blue pedal' just now, it's like a second sun. i only saw them live twice. i still remember the first show most with kingmaker and bleach and they played shiver, mad as the snow and polaroids consecutively and it was the most beautiful thing ever. what an amazing band.

"Strange Free World" is just utterly epic - I played it driving home from a music festival and I was pushing 90 before I knew it. "Drive That Fast" indeed!

my wife refers to this excellent band as "kitchens of destruction"

Well there's Toilets of Destruction and all.

And...I happen to be wearing my Strange Free World shirt this very minute.

a/s/l?

tell me what else u are wearing ;)

Lord.

you started it ;_;

"kitchens of destruction" - reading this, the first thing that popped into my head was the phrase being sung to the tune of "symphony of destruction" by megadeth

Via his Facebook account, Patrick F. has linked this:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2577831/Kitchens%20Of%20Distinction-Manchester%20Roadhouse%2012%20May%2096.zip

To quote him:

A rare audience recording, courtesy of the Tarquin Live! website, of the last ever Kitchens of Distinction UK tour in 1996. Converted to mp3 by 'Teenage Kitchenette' Jubby on this link so it should just open straight up in your iTunes library - ENJOY

Awesome, thanks! Oddly enough, someone recently posted a YT clip of theirs on my FB wall out of the blue & I've spent several hours revisiting their records in the last two days. Sadly, I never got to see them live, which is really too bad b/c I think Julian Swales is brilliant guitarist (& overlooked!) - maybe not quite on par w/ Kev, but certainly in keeping w/ the best the second-tier of 90s stompbox dudes like Nick McCabe, Adam Franklin & the Ride guys. Friends who saw them have confirmed that Swales had such masterful control of his reverb/delay that you'd swear there were three or four guitarists playing at any given time.

Death of Cool & Strange Free World are both stone cold classics imo & on my shortlist for best albums of the 90s. Cowboys and Aliens was not quite on that level, but is underrated, I feel. Sand on Fire is a total jam & must have sounded FANTASTIC when performed. Could they maybe get back together and slog it around for those of us who missed them the first time around? I honestly know nothing of how they ended up parting ways..

Strange Free World sound as good, if not better, today than it did 22 years ago. A brilliant and hugely underrated band.

http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/kitchens-of-distinction-strange-free-world-round-26-toms-selection/

Well now this is interesting -- according to recent posts on Patrick Fitzgerald's website:

http://stephenheroband.wordpress.com/

He and Julian Swales are working on a new album, and it looks like they're thinking about reviving the Kitchens of Distinction name for it if a Facebook comment was any indication. Perhaps not, we'll have to see. Here's the most recent blogpost:

Very close to mixing now. 10 new songs recorded with Julian playing guitar and me playing guitar and singing and there’s bass and strings and drums and flutes and oboes and trumpets and tambourines and weird samples and swearing and not swearing and songs that sound old and songs that sound nothing like what we’ve done before and a soprano’s ahhs and the kitchen sink.

Now what to call the thing and in what format to release it?

Wow.

God, what it would be to have some of that old Kitchens magic back; was listening to them on the long drive back from Cromer to Manchester yesterday, with the sun shining and distant wind farms spinning they sounded better than ever. I don't remember enough about the original split to know if there was any acrimony which might have prevented Dan's involvement with this? From the blog it looks like it's been a slow germination of work with Julian again anyway. Pretty exciting tbh :)

Reformation-ah! Dan Goodwin joins.

Great news... I don't expect it to completely sound like the Kitchens, but this is very promising..

We have some news:

https://www.facebook.com/events/444166695621895/permalink/534977803207450/

we are delighted to announce that the fifth KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION recording will be released later this year through the 3 LOOP MUSIC label so please head over to their Facebook page to hear all the latest about the band's new home. If you have any questions about the release - the format/s, the release date, merchandise, etc - then please direct them to the lovely folks over there from now on. It's hoped to be a Digital/CD/Vinyl release, with a possible September/October release date, and a full merchandise range but you'll hear all the finer details from the record label as and when they have them. Julian has expressed a desire to not play live and the health of yours truly is, as most of you know, often too fragile to make any firm commitments so no more questions about live shows please but if we are lucky enough to get any radio sessions then you will be the first to know.

very excited about this....

I've been playing them a ton the past month; in fact, I sometimes find myself in a mood where they are the only band I want to listen to. Can't wait to get new material from them. Too bad no live shows, but it's unlikely they would have come stateside anyway I'm guessing.

Roll on the autumn! Shame that they won't be touring, but clearly very good reasons for them not to be out on the road; I'd be surprised if they don't get some radio session offers, can imagine at least a couple of shows on 6 Music would snap them up for these.

What's wrong with Patrick?

Release date for album September 30

...and still no title for it?

no live trio tho

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/07/22/kitchens-of-distinction-new-album-stream-sample/

Yeah, Julian's been saying for a while touring ain't his thing anymore. Patrick and Dan are up for it, though, and there's been talk of getting in a replacement guitarist with Julian's blessing. Still, though...

So Lamacq's about to play a new track, I think:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0072lb2

BTW, new album cover:

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1004501_10151765594030733_25070520_n.jpg

ew, what the heck is that font

God that Arctic Monkeys song just now was a dirge.

Okay, about to be broadcast.

Very Bowie-esque, comes off a bit Suede-ish really

Indeed! Reminded me of "Sand on Fire." And apparently intentionally Bowieish given the lyrics and the paraphrase from Patrick that Lamacq gave.

I heard that, just as I was typing that post!

Given it a few listens since yesterday, it feels so good to just have them back together again. Def feeling the Bowie/Suede vibe and especially love the final "staring at the record sleeves..." part. CD preordered :)

Is the song still available to hear somewhere? Didn't see anything obvious on the BBC website but I realize it might be in one of the episodes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUZkLO-gReI

danke

Interesting direction for them to take, but definitely has some of that old magic. I could listen to those guitar lines in the bridge for hours. Can't wait for a high-quality version of this track and the rest of the album!

Okay, excellent new interview at the Quietus:

http://thequietus.com/articles/13414-kitchens-of-distinction-interview

Another lovely Wyndham Wallace feature.

And a very nicely detailed playlist from Patrick here

http://www.3loopmusic.com/patrick-fitzgeralds-exclusive-playlist/

^ The Bitter Springs' "Ken"

thoughts on the record? i dunno how much is warm nostalgia fuzzy feelings but i dig so far.

It's very good indeed -- sorry, thought I had posted on it here already. Very much a maturer band lyrically/sonically but it's still undeniably them, and the fact that they come roaring out of the gate with the first song is a good thing.

I've been giving Folly a few listens this week and am a bit on the fence so far, but I often take a while to really appreciate things. Definitely a few standouts, including "Oak Tree" and "Extravagance" but the one that really gives me the old-school KoD neck prickles is "I Wish It Would Snow", absolutely gorgeous.

Just a heads up, KOD will be playing a live in-studio set at KEXP tomorrow night 9pm Pacific. Stream it online.

Indeed!

https://www.facebook.com/events/578776285493023

http://kexp.org/events/instudio

The Lost Girls album finally came out! Cherry Red just released it with a bonus disc and it's damn good. Heidi Berry's vocals often bring to mind Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson and the addition of Patrick's sensibilities and early sampling / programming is very compelling.

Yeah it's a fun listen.

Anyone get the new box set? Unfortunately it seems to be missing "White Horses" and on Love Is Hell "Prize" has skipping on it, along with booklet printing errors according to some reviewers.

It's only the One Little Indian stuff so it doesn't have some singles.

Yeah the B-sides comp was slightly screwed up, so no "White Horses" (or "What We Really Wanted to Do," IIRC). My girlfriend, also a huge fan, ordered it -- it's nice, glitches aside, but the only tracks I didn't have were the radio sessions.

Patrick F was on the Tom Robinson show the other night -- great career-overview of an interview, well worth a listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdfb2RIdGjI

I'm game for everything Patrick is involved with. He's just released the second Oskar's Drum album with Yves Altana, it's very dark and heavy:

https://oskarsdrum.bandcamp.com/

The first one's very good too though not as immediate as this one. Frankly, I like these much more than the Kitchens comeback album "Folly".

Patrick's announced his new Stephen Hero album out in November will be his last album.

https://patrickfitzgerald.bandcamp.com/album/deciduous-eccentric

It's a lovely listen -- he very kindly sent me an advance the other day -- and it's a striking note to wrap up his career on. Here's the video for the single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsQeZx2dImA

Did he give a reason for his retirement?

Maybe he just wants to chill?

???but he's been super chill this whole time???

I hope he's not ill! I know he's a doctor, and his new single is called "Patient Here Myself."

I didn't get the sense from that in our exchange.

Very obsessed with Kitchens right now. Was happy to see this revive a few days ago.