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
Now It
Kitchens of Distinction Lyrics
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Were carefully removed
By the doctor's perfumed scarlet hands
She delved in deep for your savage teeth
That sparkled diamonds fire blue
Eating me and thrilling you
The voices have now gone
I'm looking forward to living alone
Now it's time to say goodbye
I won't stay around to be hurt by careless words
So here's the jar of your hate
Returned complete, sincerely yours, fully restored
But peace perfect peace
Could belong to me I'd bottle it
For love's like the sea
They're hungry gods with careless hands
That wrap themselves around our lives
So hard to resist
They swallowed me, you swallowed me
I closed my eyes, I disappeared
Now it's time to say goodbye
I won't stay around to be hurt by careless words
No, I suppose it's colder when you're dead
Your violent gift, I bottled it
Now it's gone, I'm in bloom
Give me strength give me hope
Give me no-one new to hold
If I saw you lately what would I say?
Give me peace please walk away
You have nothing new to say
If I saw you falling how wide could I smile?
The lyrics to Kitchens Of Distinction's song Now It's Time to Say Goodbye are a haunting reflection on a failed relationship. In the first verse, the singer describes having all the "stones" inside their head removed by a doctor with perfumed hands. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for undergoing a painful emotional experience, such as a breakup or ending a toxic relationship. The doctor's "savage teeth" could represent the partner's hurtful actions, which sparkled like "diamonds fire blue" and were thrilling to the partner but ultimately destructive.
The second verse demonstrates the singer's resolve to leave the relationship and not stay around to be hurt by careless words. They return their partner's "jar of hate" and desire peace, which they compare to bottling up the ocean. However, they acknowledge the difficulty of resisting love, which they describe as hungry gods with careless hands that wrap themselves around our lives. Despite wanting to close their eyes and disappear, the singer realizes that they must find the strength and hope to move on from their failed relationship.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of sadness, regret, and ultimately, strength in the face of heartbreak. The singer recognizes the pain that love can cause but ultimately chooses to walk away and embrace their newfound freedom and growth.
Line by Line Meaning
All the stones inside my head
All the thoughts and worries weighing on my mind
Were carefully removed
Were taken away by someone else intentionally
By the doctor's perfumed scarlet hands
By someone who had the power to heal and make changes, although possibly with negative consequences
She delved in deep for your savage teeth
She went to great lengths and put herself in danger to fix something that was harmful to someone else
That sparkled diamonds fire blue
That were attractive and enticing, but deceptive and dangerous
Eating me and thrilling you
Hurting me, but making you feel good or powerful
The voices have now gone
Negative thoughts or external pressures have stopped affecting me
I'm looking forward to living alone
I want to be independent and not influenced by anyone else
Now it's time to say goodbye
It's time for me to leave and move on
I won't stay around to be hurt by careless words
I won't subject myself to more pain or negativity
So here's the jar of your hate
I'm returning your negativity back to you
Returned complete, sincerely yours, fully restored
I'm returning it to you as you gave it to me, with no change and with the same level of sincerity and negativity
But peace perfect peace
Ideal tranquility and happiness
Could belong to me I'd bottle it
If I could achieve this, I would hold onto it and be very protective of it
For love's like the sea
Love can be vast and overwhelming
They're hungry gods with careless hands
People who love can be demanding and careless with your feelings
That wrap themselves around our lives
Love can consume and take over our lives
So hard to resist
It's difficult to deny or reject love
They swallowed me, you swallowed me
Love has overwhelmed and consumed me, and possibly also you
I closed my eyes, I disappeared
I've lost myself in love and am no longer myself
No, I suppose it's colder when you're dead
Death is a worse fate than being alone
Your violent gift, I bottled it
I've closed myself off to your harmful influence
Now it's gone, I'm in bloom
Now that your negativity is gone, I can blossom and grow
Give me strength give me hope
I need to find comfort and resilience
Give me no-one new to hold
I don't want to fall into another harmful relationship
If I saw you lately what would I say?
I don't know how to talk to you or what to say if we were to meet
Give me peace please walk away
I need you to leave me alone and let me move on
You have nothing new to say
I've heard it all before and don't want to hear it again
If I saw you falling how wide could I smile?
It would make me happy to see you suffer, as you've hurt me in the past
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAN GOODWIN, JULIAN SWALES, PATRICK FITZGERALD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind