Post by Emperor Cupcake on Mar 14, 2008 22:21:08 GMT -5
Okay, I'm sure I remember some of you guys saying you liked Bauhaus. So have any of you heard their NEW album Go Away White? If so, what do you think?
Here's my take. I just have to say right off the bat that I was kind of ambivalent about Bauhaus releasing an album of new material after 25 years. I mean, I grew up with them, they're my boys -- along with The Smiths, early Cure, and Joy Division, they were pretty much the soundtrack of my angsty teenage years. After their breakup I avidly followed the offshoot bands and solo careers of all involved. So while I was excited about four of the loves of my life actually making some new music together, I was also having anxious thoughts in the back of my mind: What if it sucked? Would I be able to objectively enjoy their back catalogue ever again?
So last week I put on Go Away White for the first time. To be perfectly honest, on the first listen, I wasn't really sure I liked it. It seemed kind of...formless, not terribly cohesive, and jarring for some reason I couldn't immediately put my finger on. Was it the more modern production? After some thought I figured out what it was: Peter Murphy's singing style has changed substantially since his Bauhaus days (not surprising, considering he's been releasing solo albums since 1986). Back then he had more of a dark, rough-edged Bowie thing happening, but in subsequent years his voice has become deeper, more resonant, more melodic, and lately tinged with a sort of Middle Eastern sensibility (also not surprising, since he's lived in Turkey for ages). The combination of this change in singing style on top of Daniel Ash's deliberately ragged and retro T. Rexy guitar playing and David J's rather Love and Rocket-y bass lines was freaking me out. It sounded odd to my ears, like David and Daniel were trying to do the Bauhaus thing, but Peter was still doing the Peter thing. But after I figured this out, I was able to just relax and listen to the thing without a preconceived notion of what I thought a 2008 Bauhaus should sound like. And you know what? It all started to make sense to me then. The structures of the songs began to make themselves apparent, and I even found myself singing a couple of the tunes later on. It took three or four listens, but I finally warmed to it. I don't think it's as good as their earlier stuff, obviously -- it's not a patch on the eclectic and brilliant Mask, for instance -- but it's a good record (and I must say I like it a hell of a lot better than Peter's last solo album, the hapless and over-produced Unshattered). Of all the reviews I've read, "Endless Summer of the Damned" seems to be the favorite track, but personally I think "Too Much 21st Century" and "Saved" are easily the best songs on it. It's just too bad that the band decided to call it quits for good -- I would have liked to see what the boys would have done with these songs live.
Well, sorry to go on so long about a subject that may be of interest to only two or three people, but I just felt like I should get it out there. As you were.
Here's my take. I just have to say right off the bat that I was kind of ambivalent about Bauhaus releasing an album of new material after 25 years. I mean, I grew up with them, they're my boys -- along with The Smiths, early Cure, and Joy Division, they were pretty much the soundtrack of my angsty teenage years. After their breakup I avidly followed the offshoot bands and solo careers of all involved. So while I was excited about four of the loves of my life actually making some new music together, I was also having anxious thoughts in the back of my mind: What if it sucked? Would I be able to objectively enjoy their back catalogue ever again?
So last week I put on Go Away White for the first time. To be perfectly honest, on the first listen, I wasn't really sure I liked it. It seemed kind of...formless, not terribly cohesive, and jarring for some reason I couldn't immediately put my finger on. Was it the more modern production? After some thought I figured out what it was: Peter Murphy's singing style has changed substantially since his Bauhaus days (not surprising, considering he's been releasing solo albums since 1986). Back then he had more of a dark, rough-edged Bowie thing happening, but in subsequent years his voice has become deeper, more resonant, more melodic, and lately tinged with a sort of Middle Eastern sensibility (also not surprising, since he's lived in Turkey for ages). The combination of this change in singing style on top of Daniel Ash's deliberately ragged and retro T. Rexy guitar playing and David J's rather Love and Rocket-y bass lines was freaking me out. It sounded odd to my ears, like David and Daniel were trying to do the Bauhaus thing, but Peter was still doing the Peter thing. But after I figured this out, I was able to just relax and listen to the thing without a preconceived notion of what I thought a 2008 Bauhaus should sound like. And you know what? It all started to make sense to me then. The structures of the songs began to make themselves apparent, and I even found myself singing a couple of the tunes later on. It took three or four listens, but I finally warmed to it. I don't think it's as good as their earlier stuff, obviously -- it's not a patch on the eclectic and brilliant Mask, for instance -- but it's a good record (and I must say I like it a hell of a lot better than Peter's last solo album, the hapless and over-produced Unshattered). Of all the reviews I've read, "Endless Summer of the Damned" seems to be the favorite track, but personally I think "Too Much 21st Century" and "Saved" are easily the best songs on it. It's just too bad that the band decided to call it quits for good -- I would have liked to see what the boys would have done with these songs live.
Well, sorry to go on so long about a subject that may be of interest to only two or three people, but I just felt like I should get it out there. As you were.
