[.ca] In The Flat Field

The first goth album:
I feel honored to even review this album. This was one of my first goth CDs when I first got into goth at 15 or 14 I can't really remember, anyway it blew me away instantly. Each song stands on its own and Peter Murphy's voice is out standing. If you are just getting into the goth subculture I would buy this album first. Ignore Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, and that EBM stuff. BUY THIS ALBUM. Make it your first goth album you won't regret it.

Strong Bauhaus' Studio Effort:
This was the band's 1st and arguably best studio album depending which kind of Bauhaus songs you prefer. However it was so hard to find back in the 80's that most people collected Bauhaus songs via compilations. ITFF has so many songs it looks like a comp too. Collectors and fans today are lucky that this once rare album is now so easy to find, and cheap also. Several of their signature dark, mysterious gems are present: "Double Dare", "Dark Entries" and the intrigue-laden "Spy in the Cab". But this album is heavier with their faster, more punk songs like "St. Vitus Dance", "God in an Alcove", "Telegram Sam" and the title track "In the Flat Field" (Peter Murphy would remake "ITFF" under the title "The Line Between the Devil's Teeth" later in his solo career). My favorite on this album is the brilliant "Crowds", the ultimate ode to the relationship that ends bitterly. It's a great album and a must for fans. ITFF is a solid place for newcomers to start though a true comp like "Volume I" or "Volume II" may be better.

Raw Bauhaus:
This album, in my opinion, was the best Bauhaus album to date. The sound is raw and also very dark. Dark Entries, In The Flat Field, and God In An Alcove are some of the best ones on here,theres even a awesome alternative version of God In an Alcove on here. There is a few songs,however, I did not attach with at all, Scopes is just a goofy song, I mean come on, a song with lyrics about SCOPES?Wtf?Small Talk Stinks is also a pretty goofy song.Besides those songs this whole album is great and I highly recomend it to anyone starting on Bauhaus or if you dont have it, or if you are into Gothic music.

Gothic roots:
Peter Murphy being one of my favourite musicians, it's interesting to investigate his roots in this seminal goth album from the early 1980s. Compared to his later solo work, this music is raw but passionate and multifaceted, utilising innovative drum patterns, guitar bursts and alienated vocals to create sparse sounds of gloom and foreboding. The eeriest tracks here - and my personal favourites - are Small Talk Stinks with it insistent repetition of the title, the frightening St. Vitus Dance and the hair raising Stigmata Martyr with its Latin chant that sounds like the black mass. A God In An Alcove and Spy In The Cab are further above-average tracks. This re-issue has been enhanced by the addition of early singles like Telegram Sam, their stunning version of the T. Rex single. Bauhaus were brave in their experimentation and deserve their cult status as they didn't choose the easy path of catchy rock riffs but wove a web of mood and feeling influenced to a certain extent by the pioneering work of Bowie, Siouxsie & The Banshees and others. They spawned a host of imitators but this is the real goth thing from the fertile early 1980s.

Black hymns of squealing nonsense.:
I love it. I do admit, though, that if I were to sit down and listen to this album expecting any profound technical ability (from ANY of the members), this album would be spear-tackled into the nearest bin. It's all punk in attitude. None of these men care. There is no convention here. They just churn out dark squealy little detuned hymns about vampires, dancing, killing, hair of dogs etc to inspire the black masses of the early 80's. It doesn't sound at all scary, angsty or foreboding. I find myself laughing at this music more often than not. Some of those guitar lines...seriously....they have to be mistakes! I mean, who TRIES to play like that???? Yuck. I love it. Buy it. Or steal it. GO!

• Dark Entries
• Double Dare
• In the Flat Field
• God in an Alcove
• Dive
• Spy in the Cab
• Small Talk Stinks
• St. Vitus Dance
• Stigmata Martyr
• Nerves
• Telegram Sam
• Rosegarden Funeral of Sores
• Terror Couple Kill Colonel
• Scopes
• God in an Alcove
• Crowds
• Terror Couple Kill Colonel \oRemix\c