Resurrected from almost total obscurity by the praise and enthusiasm of Kurt Cobain, The Raincoats were one of those cult bands that seemingly had more impact on other musicians than on the public. The rap on this band was that they couldn’t quite play their instruments, but their lack of technical proficiency was always compensated for by an earnestness and creativity that more formal training may have undermined.

With their off-kilter song structures, ever-present chiming violin, and innate pop sense, the Raincoats created a host of quite interesting material. The Kitchen Tapes was originally issued by formerly cassette-only label ROIR in 1983 and documents the development of The Raincoats into an effective live act, as it captures a legendary performance at New York’s The Kitchen For The Performing Arts in December of 1982.