Customer Reviews

Capsule: Best of Kod 1988-94

5 star:		(8)
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3 star:		(1)
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There are a few K.o.D songs i miss in this compilation such as Smiling or One of those moments is now,(the band's members were unanimous in the tracklist) but there's no doubt of the intensity,honesty,elegance and beauty present the songs featured.Dream pop at its highest peak,K.o.D 's sound is unique and crafted,emotional and intense.Drummer Dan Goodwin is excelent, but guitarist Julian Swales is astonishing..you'll never believe here's just one guitar playing...and no noise guitar...just beautiful harmonics and melodies assembled.I still wonder how he managed that sound.This songs should be the guiding light,the inspiration for those bands trying to make good emo,dream pop, shoegazer , etc.
If you never associated pop with, beautiful music and passionate lyrics here that's everywhere.
P.S Yes,there were gay,but i still haven't found no band that feels and describes what you feel when you're in Love like these guys did.

Since all of the Kitchens original albums are criminally out of print. This compilation will have to do. It has tons of great songs every one should check out such as "The 3rd Time We Opened The Capsule", "Quick As Rainbows", "Sand On Fire", and my personal favorite "Drive That Fast". There is also a 2nd disc filled with B-sides and rarities that will please any die-hard fan. Highly recommended.

They were great, this band. Swirling guitars, powerful rhythms, and some of the most gut-wrenching lyrics ever delivered. Listening to Patrick Fitzgerald fall in and out of love throughout the band's catalog is one thrilling ride, and this is a fair overview that ably introduces this criminally neglected band. Buy it, emo kids.

I've got a soft spot in me for Kitchens Of Distinction. It's the soundtrack of my glory years, the last year of high school, the first years of college, the time where everything and nothing mattered. Nothing else comes close. So my reviews of their music are often biased. I'll try to reel that in a bit here.

It's fitting, the name "Capsule"; as a hermetically-sealed look into the aspects of another time or culture... But isn't that what records are, aside from collections of songs? As such, it's hard not to draw an analogy between the Kitchens Of Distinction and the glory-days of the late 80's-early-90's, when "alternative" truly was an alternative, and hundreds of marvelous bands had the courage to forge new territory. I remember as fondly The Throwing Muses, Pixies, Judybats, Lush, etc. but I have a dreaded certainty that my life would be radically different if Kitchens of Distinction never existed.

There is some discussion as to whether this is touted as a "Greatest Hits" or similar collection; in my opinion it isn't; rather, it's a fairly random collection of ESSENTIALS (if anything from KOD could be considered nonessential) that more or less provides an accurate portrait of this band and its music over the course of their four studio releases. For hits, though, we're missing the glorious "He Holds Her", a college radio favorite, and of course, "Smiling" one of the few KOD songs to be featured on MTV's 120 minutes. Also, i'd have preferred to trade "Prince of Mars" for anything else, maybe "4 Men" (a fantastic song); I never did care for Prince Of Mars and hearing it reminds me of Pat's solo work now.

It's the 2nd disc that makes this collection worth springing for; at Napster's pinnacle, I searched day and night to steal these rare tunes. Most were released as b-sides on Maxi-EPs or 12' vinyls. With the exception of the 12' verison of "4 men" (I actually own the 12' Prize single that this come from, and it's surprisingly lackluster compared to its later reworking on Death Of Cool), nothing here is filler. Having been lucky enough to see KOD open for Suzanne Vega, I consider any live recording worth having; it's just bliss to hear what Julian does on stage, recreating the studio guitar tracks with one axe, multiple pedals and no overdubbing. The acoustic-laden, mellower "Elephantiny", different from the "Love is Hell" version, and countless rarities, including the glorious "Air Shifting", all create a very satisfying assortment. For you "Volume" fans who can't seem to track down the Volume 1 edition, the good news is "Innocent" is here, in all its majestical glory, marching out of your speakers and through your head like an anthem of the alternative muse, demanding only one volume setting: loud.

Kitchens Of Distinction were always stadium rockers without a stadium. With the band split for good and certainly no more material left to release, this farewell collection deserves our standing applause.

I always thought Kitchens' were in a league of their own in Shoe-gazing. Yet, few people have even heard of them, which is a crime. Check this CD out and blow your mind.

This CD gets 5 stars just for being available. I bought Death of Cool on tape- yes cassette, when it came out. After wearing the tape out several years later, I could not find the CD anywhere. Being so desperate, I even resorted to using my computer and hooking up my stereo to burn a CD from .wav files, from the tape. Yes, I like KOD. The ONLY beef I have with this CD is where is "Smiling"? But that's only a minor beef. Everything else I could want is here. I agree with the other reviewer who said they were biased due to the fact it was the soundtrack to their glory years. I couldn't agree more. It was to me too. I'll never forget being in high school, listening to KOD, and my Dad asked me who it was I was listening to, I said Kitchens of Distinction, I had to pick him off the floor he was laughing so hard, he thought that was the greatest band name ever. When I read the liner notes, the little paragraph that says how music to them was everything, you can certainly tell. One thing I really like about KOD is that with the solos and the feedback and such, for most bands its a departure from the main melody/rhythm, or in other words an excuse to wack off. Not that that's always bad, However, every note KOD plays seems to have some meaning. Its not out of context of the song, its just as important as every other note. KOD will be on the most important bands to me ever. Like some other relatively lesser known bands of that era, the other reviewer mentioned Judybats, I thought of Eugenuis, just some bands that people today may never experience, and its a shame. They will always have a special place in my heart. This CD rocks. Play it loud!

If you've never had the pleasure of hearing KOD, then you really don't know what you are missing. KOD have, more than anybody else, demonstrated what artists can do with music. This 2 CD set is subtitled "Best of KOD: 1988-1994", and other than "Gorgeous Love" and "Blue Pearl" are missing, this really is a "Best of" album. I don't understand the rationale of omitting those 2 above mentioned songs, especially since I can't find the "Strange Free World" CD here in the states, but maybe the makers of this album have different opinions than me on what hte best songs of KOD truly are. Overall, this album is a must for anybody serious about music.

I have all cd's of kitchens of distinction.All cd is perfect. "kitchens" will always be in my heart...is a amazing group.They could not overcome the star system ,is unfairness that did not find the required recognition.Now Patrick made a beautiful group "Stephen hero" it continues to offers moments of musical magic.

As a long time follower of the shoegaze scene, I would have to say that this band is one of my least favourites. While the band itself is very good, it should not be lumped into the shoegaze category. This is more of a indie band/record with some of the songs containing a little feedback, that doesn't make it shoegaze. It just does not capture that mood and essence that an album like Souvlaki (Slowdive), Split (Lush), Against Perfection (Adorable), Whirlpool (Chapterhouse) or any of the first 2 Catherine Wheel albums do. The singer's voice is just too thin and his pitch is just way off, his voice never leaves the same tone from the start of the album to finish. Good shoegaze records provide a beautiful musical soundscape, vocals which are capable of helping the songs flow are key, but K.O.D. are and indie band, raw music with a raw vocal, a scratchy, "recorded in your friends basement" sound, in other words; a half decent INDIE record, but in NO WAY A SHOEGAZE BAND.