KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION - Capsule: The Best Of Kod 1988 - 94 (Sealed) (CD)

Beyond My Bloody Valentine, much of the silvery dreampop of the early ’90s has aged badly:hamstrung by insensitive productions; superseded by electronic solipsists. A pleasure, then, to discover how well Kitchens Of Distinction stand up. Julian Swales’ multi-dimensional guitar washes are still transporting, but it’s their zeal, humanity and surging tunes which really shine through in 2003. That, and the fact current New York darlings Interpol often sound like a KOD tribute band. Shame, though, that openly gay singers like Patrick Fitzgerald remain scarce in the covertly homophobic world of indie rock.