Though widely considered a cult band, Kitchens entered the U.K. Top 40 with their Hugh Jones-produced second album, Strange Free World (1991). Released on major label AM in the U.S., it left impressions on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart with the singles "Drive That Fast" and "Quick as Rainbows." The Death of Cool (1992), a wider-scoped set also produced by Jones, generated additional U.S. chart placements with "Smiling" and "4 Men." Following the self-produced Cowboys and Aliens (1994), Kitchens were left without a label but resurfaced on Fierce Panda as Kitchens O.D. with "Feel My Genie" (1996), heralded as Single of the Week by Melody Maker. Shortly thereafter, the band split. Fitzgerald continued to record under the names Fruit and Stephen Hero, and collaborated with Heidi Berry as Lost Girls. Swales made music for television and stage productions.
A few years after Kitchens were anthologized with Capsule: The Best of KOD 1988-94 (2003), they attempted to work together in Fitzgerald's studio but hit a dead end. Fitzgerald, Swales, and Goodwin eventually regrouped yet again and, during a two-year period, casually worked on material that led to Folly (2013), their fifth and final studio album. Kitchens' first four albums, along with their B-sides and radio sessions, were compiled and packaged as a box set, Watch Our Planet Circle (2017). ~ Andy Kellman & Jason Ankeny, Rovi