release date: Sep. 30, 2013
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: Kitchens of Distinction, Pascal Gabriel
label: 3 Loop Music - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 2. "Extravagance" - 4. "Photographing Rain" - 6. "Japan to Jupiter" - 9. "Tiny Moments Tiny Omens"
5th studio album and the first in nearly two decades by the reformed Kitchens of Distinction. The album is released on the newly-founded 3 Loop Music, and it follows Cowboys and Aliens from 1994. Since the band's breakup in '96, lead vocalist Patrick Fitzgerald continued solo under the name of Fruit although, both guitarist Julian Swales and drummer Dan Goodwin play on Fruit's first album Hark at Her from '97. Around the year 2000, Fitzgerald performed as Stephen Hero and he was part of the collaboration-project Lost Girls. Guitarist Julian Swales also contributed on releases with Stephen Hero, and drummer Dan Goodwin played percussion on the '96 album Lovelife by Lush and on the '97 album Lovers and Trippers by Sufi.
Folly is a full-length album of brand new compositions, although stylewise, they continue - mostly as if several years didn't go by, and in that regard it sound somewhat dated. And I'm not really impressed BUT then again: I never really was after two first brilliant albums I really had to adapt myself to their most recent release. Patrick Fitzgerald's voice sounds exactly as it did 20 years ago and so does Julian Swales guitar, and I wonder if that can be bad?! Up until now, I do find it a rather pale imitation of shiny golden days. Alas, the band dissolved once again in early 2014 after releasing its so far final 4-track ep, Extravangance (apr. 2014). Of the three, only Fitzgerald seems to have continued a career in music. Firstly, he continued as Stephen Hero, and he has released the Pop Tarkovskij collaboration album together with Paul Frederick as The April Seven [both born on that date], and then most recently he has been part of the lasting trio, Oskar's Drum.
