Over the course of their career, the band has released five studio albums - "Love is Hell" (1989), "Strange Free World" (1991), "The Death of Cool" (1992), "Cowboys and Aliens" (1994), and "Folly" (2013).
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 the NME, and led to the band signing with the British indie label One Little Indian Records; it was around this time that Fitzgerald, a medical doctor, put his career on hold to devote himself fully to the band. Their first singles for One Little Indian, 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 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 to the shoegazing scene of the late 1980s/early 1990s.
Despite the promising start, the band faced a subdued reception from the mainstream music industry, generally due to their lyrical content. For instance, "Margaret's Injection", on the 1989 Elephantine EP, was a fantasy about killing then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Also, Fitzgerald was openly gay, and his lyrics were unapologetic, especially on tracks like "Prize" and "Within the Daze of Passion". Even the more indie-focused television programs like Snub TV and Rapido failed to give them much coverage, although Snub TV played the video for their 1991 single "Drive That Fast". Likewise, they were not offered a John Peel radio session, although they eventually did get one after asking Peel personally, following a Glastonbury performance which he appreciated.
Kitchens of Distinction sometimes performed "secret" gigs under the alter ego Toilets of Destruction.[2][6] 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.
In 1990, they signed with A&M Records in the US, and went into the studio with producer Hugh Jones (Simple Minds, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Undertones). Their second album, Strange Free World, was released in February 1991, and spawned some moderately successful singles 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 released an influential album titled The Birth of the Cool 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 labelmate Suzanne Vega, whose album 99.9F° came out within a few weeks of theirs.
Later in 1993, KOD began work on their fourth album, co-producing it themselves with engineer Pete Bartlett. One Little Indian rejected the album twice, and eventually, both label and band agreed to bring in up-and-coming producer Pascal Gabriel to work on a couple of tracks. One of the label's complaints about the album as the band originally submitted it was that they felt it lacked a potential hit single, so Gabriel produced a new song ("Come on Now") that the band had written after the rest of the album had already been recorded; Gabriel also remixed two of the album's other tracks (the opener "Sand on Fire" and first single "Now It's Time to Say Goodbye"). The resulting album, Cowboys and Aliens, was released in the UK in October 1994, and although the band admitted that they enjoyed working with Gabriel, the changes did nothing to help the album's dismal sales. When the album saw its US release in early 1995, it was largely ignored by the same alternative rock radio and media that had championed them just a few years before. By the end of 1995, both A&M and OLI had dropped the band.
Shortening their name to Kitchens O.D. and signing to the London-based indie label Fierce Panda Records, they issued a single, "Feel My Genie" in May 1996, which was named "Single of the Week" by Melody Maker, but they officially disbanded that summer after a farewell gig at London's Kings Cross.
In September 2012, Fitzgerald announced that he and Swales had recorded and were in the process of editing ten new songs. 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
Can't Trust the Waves
Kitchens of Distinction Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm the ocean,
Float within me.
When I look at you
Your brilliant smile stops time,
Intoxicates me.
In moments of you,
Nothing ripples, nothing sways.
This tender love feeds my days,
Damn these foolish childish ways.
What use are these words?
What use are these lips?
My lips only melt on yours.
I can't trust the waves to float me,
I can't trust the moon that shines on you.
But when I'm with you
I'm the ocean.
And when I'm with you
I've come home.
The lyrics of Kitchens of Distinction's song "Can't Trust the Waves" convey the feeling of being lost and finding oneself in the presence of a loved one. The singer compares their beloved to the ocean, seeking refuge in their embrace. The mention of "foolish childish ways" suggests that the singer has made mistakes in the past, perhaps straying from their true path, but now they have found something that gives their life meaning.
The second stanza describes the sense of time standing still when the singer looks at their beloved. The smile of their loved one has the power to intoxicate them, and they are able to lose themselves in these moments of connection. The metaphor of the ocean suggests that the singer experiences a deep sense of contentment and fulfillment when they are with their partner.
The chorus refers to the uncertainty and insecurity that often accompanies love. The singer acknowledges that they cannot trust external factors, such as the waves or the moon, to guide them in their relationship. However, when they are with their loved one, they feel a sense of homecoming and grounding. The overall message of the song seems to be that, despite the chaos and uncertainty of the world, love has the power to provide a sense of stability and purpose.
Line by Line Meaning
When I'm with you
Being in your presence is like being in the ocean, surrounded and supported by your love.
Float within me.
Your love is like water, carrying and keeping me afloat.
When I look at you
The intensity of my love for you is so great that even looking at you is enough to overwhelm me.
Your brilliant smile stops time,
Your smile is so captivating that it can halt time in its tracks and leave me in a temporary state of mesmerization.
Intoxicates me.
Your love is like a drug that I can't get enough of, leaving me always wanting more.
I can lose myself
You have the power to make me forget everything else and surrender myself completely to you.
In moments of you,
When I'm with you, every second feels like a precious moment that I never want to end.
Nothing ripples, nothing sways.
With you, everything is still and right in the world. There are no disturbances or disruptions to my inner peace.
This tender love feeds my days,
Your love nourishes me and fills me with happiness and contentment, making each day worthwhile.
Damn these foolish childish ways.
Despite my efforts to be mature and stoic, my love for you makes me feel foolishly and joyfully childish.
What use are these words?
No matter how much I try to express my feelings with words, they can never fully capture the depth of my love for you.
What use are these lips?
My words are meaningless without action. My lips can only prove my love for you through physical affection.
My lips only melt on yours.
My love is so intense that it can only be expressed through the physical act of kissing you, and nothing else.
I can't trust the waves to float me,
Just as I can't trust the unpredictability of the waves, I can't trust the ups and downs of life to keep me grounded and stable--only your love can do that.
I can't trust the moon that shines on you.
Even reliable sources of light and guidance, like the moon, are unreliable when it comes to your love--only you can show me the way.
But when I'm with you
Despite my fears and doubts, I know that everything will be alright when I'm together with you.
I'm the ocean.
My love for you is vast, all-encompassing, and powerful--just like the ocean.
And when I'm with you
Being with you is the only time when I feel truly at home, safe and secure in your love.
I've come home.
Your love is my home, the place where I belong and where I always want to be.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Leo Nidas
beatiful song, es una de mis favoritas
luis martin moreno
my favorite KOD song!!!!
celia ayneto
I'm the ocean - such a beautiful song!
Jose Ramon Morales Montes De Oca
Celestial !!!
Alberto MUFC
03/08/1992
03/08/2022
30 years today "The death of cool"
Forever and ever ❤️🎸
Daniel Delayne
💙
it's a London thing
Dunno how that geeza in the comments can have that point of view about the saxophone ruining it?, it's parts and parcel of why it's such a blinding song in my opinion
Guille Germo
Wabi-sabi
Christian Landaeta Torres
Futuro Fm 88,9 Chile mid 90s.
Daniel Cartes
De los primeros temas que aprendí a tocar!!!