Bauhaus Album: “Go Away White”

It's been 25 years since Bauhaus released a studio record (1983's

). In the intervening time, the band has been busy with vocalist Peter Murphy pursuing a solo career and the rest of the band-- guitarist Daniel Ash, bassist David J and drummer Kevin Haskins finding fame as Love & Rockets. After a handful of reunion tours (the first of which documented on

) and persistent rumors of an album, "Go Away White" has finally arrived, the band's "farewell" record (yeah, we've heard that before). But like I said, it's been 25 years since these guys have gone in the studio to record new material-- goth and new wave (and contrary to popular assessment, Bauhaus straddled both camps) have run their course and spawned their children in the various alternative movements of the past 20 years and glam music had been reduced to a bunch of guys with eye liner and trashy metal riffs before collapsing.

So it's into this that Bauhaus' new album arrives, and one thing I can say-- you can't go home again. The music of Bauhaus in the late '70s and early '80s was unique, powerful and of its time. It stands on its own but one fears any effort to recapture that glory would fall flat-- mind you, it'd draw its armies of praise from the retro crowd, but in five years, it'd be a record collecting dust like other similar projects. Happily, Bauhaus did not pursue this route, instead turning out something entirely new.

This comes clear pretty much right from the start-- "Two Much 21st Century" kicks in with a modern production vibe-- bright guitars and a crisp, ringing bass sit in between a great rolling backbeat and Murphy's explosive vocal. It's a statement-- this isn't your dad's Bauhaus, if anything, it sounds like what Murphy's

should have been (I just couldn't get into that record). As the record moves on, it sounds essentially like a modern band that's really influenced by Bauhaus, admittedly sometimes this is more overt (loping goth piece "Mirror Remains") and sometimes less so ("Undone", a rambling alt-rock slice that could have come off a Jane's Addiction album but for the vocal). The album does consistently hold interest, and while it does have an occasional foray into goofy glam ("International Bulletproof Talent"), the balance of great songs such as screechy guitar driven funk rocker "Adrenalin", droning goth redux "Dog's a Vapour" (full of harmony laden vocals and a doom-driven musical cut) and post punk rocker "Black Stone Heart" (really quite the standout) carry the record straight through to the closing ambient cut "Zikir", recalling the best work in this form of the side careers of the band.

The only downside is that apparently the sessions yielded some sort of division in the band and this is being described as the band's farewell. The material sounds like it'd come alive in concert and it's a shame to hear. Nonetheless, it's great to see a Bauhaus record that has something to say.

Some will call this album brilliant just because it's Bauhaus .

Bauhaus have always been a combination of moments of complete self indulgence interspersed through some of the best songs ever .

Take away the best songs ever and that's what your left with here .

There are a few decent moments ( The Dogs A Vapour) .

But I think the individual members have had too long to follow their own sound - some of these songs sound like Love and Rockets with Pete singing .The undercurrent of menace and anger has completely gone .

Maybe being such a huge fan of their work my expectations were too high

This work is an inspired piece. From the first strums to the last note, the band rediscovered themselves. The songs are better than the last two cds they did, and it ranks with Mask and In the Flat Field.

Endless Summer of the Damned should be on the list of songs new "bands" should listen to in order to see how a song should be written and performed. When the song kicks in, all four members are working as team -- and the power of rock comes through to the listener. Passion comes alive inside one while listening -- no matter what. The song has all the basics of what rock should be, but it is new and fresh. Besides the Pixies way back when, there hasn't been a proper rock song like that released until now.

Saved can move one beyond words and Peter's words are the perfect paint to the music canvas.

All the songs are great and worthy of an rock fan to buy.

To the band:

Please put pettiness aside. You guys have a gift -- share it.

After the long awaited "Resurrection Tour" a decade ago (could it possibly have been that long?), the promise of new Bauhaus material beyond the haunting cover of Dead Can Dance's "Severance" (on

) sadly never materialized.

Sure, "Dog's a Vapour" (from the

]) whetted the appetite of fans hungry for a scrap (which "Dog's" was... in every sense of the word [we could, however, just drop the "s" and call it crap), but a new album didn't appear likely. It would seem that

would remain the official swan song from messrs Ash, Haskins, J and Murphy.

Now, 25 years after their final A&M release, fans are treated to an 18 day "spontaneous" session (as Peter Murphy would call it) by a briefly reunited Bauhaus from 2006 that results in the recently released GO AWAY WHITE.

Beginning with the almost perfect "Too Much 21st Century," an art-rock pop gem that showcases everything that was, and is the best of bauhaus (the groove created by Daniel Ash's minimalist guitar, David J's strangely funky and slightly jarring bassline, and Kevin Haskin's stripped down kit is just too good for words), GO AWAY WHITE shows great promise.

Songs like "International Belletproof Talent" and "Endless Summer of the Damned" are evidence of a bandmates having fun again, taking the best of everything learned from solo projects, and re-energizing a sound that was, and still is, uniquely Bauhaus' own. The progenitors of goth (a genre that took shape in the late 70s, but a title that would have been new to the band itself at a time when they were most vital) are once again making music influenced by the glam of T. Rex, the punk of the Pistols and the Damned, and the art rock of David Bowie and Roxy Music, but, embarassingly, for a group of musicians this talented, it is only the aforementioned tracks that stand out as stellar.

Should GO AWAY WHITE have been released as an EP with "Too Much 21st Century," "Endless Summer of the Damned" and "International Belletproof Talent" as the only tracks, the angel that graces the cover of the album would truly be leading us to some sonic promised land where dark things decadently dance and everyone can wear black and pretend they're nocturnal immortals all over again.

But the spontaneity of this brief reunion also results in the overindulgence of songs like "Saved," "Mirror Remains," and "Zikir." As an "album" WHITE is a mixed bag of songs that you will not only skip over on repeated listens, but finding yourself getting angry with, knowing that 18 days in the studio could certainly have resulted in much more than the usually spot-on Peter Murphy doing a really bad Peter Murphy impression (in multiple overdubs at that!). Perhaps too much is expected because so much time has passed, but a better producer could have put the brakes on this uneven ride and perhaps shaped a true "return to form" as REM has recently done with the career-revitalizing

.

For fans, GO AWAY WHITE is essential, but flawed.

For newcomers, steer clear, and go find yourself a copy of

.

When a band with a loyal fanbase reunites, it is virtually impossible for it to escape a heavy burden of expectation from its fans. Many expect the band to be just the same as before; others want to see the band be similar to how it was, but only "somehow better"....In either case, the band is in a horrible trap: if it replicates the sound and atmosphere of its old records, some will slag it off as being frozen in time, an oldies act, or irrelevant with nothing new to say. If they branch out and try a new direction, even if in small baby-steps, fans will criticize them for being different and not as good as before, forgetting who they were, selling out, etc. etc.

Bauhaus were so unique and influential in their heyday, and they have such a devoted cult-like fan base and reputation, that they are saddled with more than a crushing load of expectation anytime they get together; and such expectations certainly have been brought to bear on this record. In my view, it is both similar and different from their older work and it also reflects and incorporates bits of the work the members have done in the intervening 25 years (Love and Rockets and Murphy's solo work. This makes it varied and interested, though not quite as extreme and experimental as some of their earlier more far-out stuff.

Let's face it: many of their earlier albums were quite good, but they also were spotty; bits of brilliance with a real clunker or flawed experiment of two between the good bits. "Go Away White" is much more consistent from beginning to end, perhaps reflecting the maturity of the players (though they still seem unable to get along for long periods of time, as evidenced by their re-break-up).

So similarities to "old" Bauhaus: Murphy's co0mmanding and melodramatic vocals, Ash's extremely textured guitar work, and the solid yet inventive rhythm section of the Haskins brothers.

In my view, Ash is a very interesting figure in that, while he can certainly play guitar "straight" and with upfront punkish intensity, he more often than not chooses the more oblique approach, reducing his guitar at times to generate whirs and chimes, scrapes and shimmering scrims of noise or tone. He did this in the old days too, but continues to find ways to coax new sounds from the commonplace rock guitar and make it fit/work for the song. Listen carefully and you'll hear all this.....

David J and Kevin Haskins are as solid as always, but now also seem to play with a newfound flexibility and subtlety, slightly shifting their accents and emphasis while still locking into a groove.

Leave your expectations about the old Bauhaus behind and you'll enjoy this record on its own merits much more.....