Strange Free World


Strange Free World is the second album by British alternative rock band Kitchens of Distinction, released on 19 February 1991 in the US by A&M Records and on 18 March 1991 in the UK by One [Little Indian Records]. It is the follow-up to their 1989 debut Love Is Hell. Noted producer Hugh Jones, who worked with Echo & the Bunnymen, among many others, helped KOD to sound more at ease in the studio.
Reviewer Ned Raggett of AllMusic notes that "Musically, the tunes sound quite ambitious in many ways, often steering away from conventional verse-chorus-verse formulas," and calling the album an overall excellent effort. It is often considered one of the group's best works, as well as possibly its most popular and commercially successful, peaking at number 45 on the UK Albums Chart. The album also includes their first UK charting single "Drive That Fast," which peaked at number 93 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2016, Pitchfork ranked the album at #18 in its 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time, noting the band's status as an outlier in the shoegaze genre.

Singles

  • "Quick as Rainbows"
  • * UK single:
  • # "Quick as Rainbows"
  • # "Mainly Mornings"
  • # "In a Cave"
  • # "Shiver"
  • * US promo 12" single:
  • # "Quick as Rainbows"
  • # "These Drinkers"
  • # "Elephantiny"
  • # "Three to Beam Up"
  • "Drive That Fast"
  • * UK single:
  • # "Drive That Fast"
  • # "These Drinkers"
  • # "Elephantiny"
  • # "Three to Beam Up"
  • * US promo 12" single:
  • # "Drive That Fast"
  • # "Railwayed"

Personnel

;Kitchens of Distinction
with:
;Technical