''Love Is Hell'' is the debut album by British

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Kitchens of Distinction Kitchens of Distinction (sometimes shortened colloquially to KOD) are an English three-person alternative rock band formed in Tooting, South London, in 1986. They released four studio albums and a handful of singles and EPs before disbanding ...

, first released in April 1989 by

One Little Indian Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In th ...

in the UK and

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

in the US. While the album earned KOD comparisons to bands like Echo & the Bunnymen and

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever. The ...

, the guitar soundscapes created by Julian Swales and the passionate lyrics and vocal delivery from Patrick Fitzgerald gave Kitchens of Distinction their own signature sound. The album also maintains a punkier sound than to be featured on the band's later albums. The 1993 CD edition of the album includes the band's 1989 ''Elephantine'' EP as 4 bonus tracks. The album takes its title from the last line in "Hammer", a song about love gone wrong. Allmusic - Kitchens of Distinction "Hammer" song review/ref>

Track listing

Singles

*"Prize" (October 1988) *# "Prize" *# "Concede" *# "Innocent" *"The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule" (May 1989) *# "The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule" *# "4 Men" (early version) *# "Into the Sea" *# "Prize" (Demo) *"Elephantine" EP (October 1989) *# "Elephantine" *# "Margaret's Injection" *# "The 1001st Fault" *# "Anvil Dub"

Personnel

;Kitchens of Distinction * Patrick Fitzgerald – vocals, bass * Julian Swales – guitar * Dan Goodwin – drums with: * Anna Palm – violin on "Her Last Day in Bed" ;Technical *

Barry Sage Barry Sage is a British sound engineer and producer, currently living in Santiago, Chile. Sage has worked with a variety of British and Latin American acts, including the Rolling Stones, Boy George, Pet Shop Boys, Nicole and Charly García. Car ...

– engineer * Sleeve design by Me Company * Distributed by The Cartel

References

{{Authority control Kitchens of Distinction albums 1989 debut albums One Little Independent Records albums