180g Heavyweight Vinyl. First time on vinyl since 1989. The Kitchens of Distinction's early comparisons ran the gamut from Echo and the Bunnymen and the Chameleons to older fret-benders like Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix. What the comparisons were all aiming to describe was the band's secret weapon — Swales' awesome abilities on guitar, which created tenderness and overdriven power. On Love Is Hell, the band's debut, the Kitchens sound like they're feeling their way around a studio, with rougher, punkier edges on some numbers (notably the thrashy rant against the workday grind, Mainly Mornings). More impressive still is how wellFitzgerald's thoughtful, passionate lyrics and singing match Swales' work in so many different ways throughout the record — tenderly evocative on In a Cave, increasingly agitated during the bitter Prize, and downright soaring on The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule.
