Bauhaus - In The Flat Field

Few debut albums have ever arrived as nearly perfectly formed as In the Flat Field. It practically invented what remains for many as the blueprint of goth music. Goth rock created a minimalistic, overbearingly gloomy style of post-punk rock driven by jagged guitar chords and cold, distant synthesizers. Throughout their brief career, the band explored all the variations on their bleak musical ideas, adding elements of glam rock, experimental electronic rock, funk, and heavy metal. While their following has never expanded beyond a cult, they kept their cult alive well into the '90s, a full decade after they disbanded.

Bauhaus formed in 1978 in Northampton, England. Guitarist/vocalist Daniel Ash, bassist/vocalist David J (born David Jay Haskins), and drummer Kevin Haskins had played together as a trio called the Craze before forming Bauhaus with vocalist Peter Murphy. Originally, the band was called Bauhaus 1919 after the German art movement; by 1979, they had dropped the 1919 from their name.

In August of 1979, the group released their debut single, "Bela Lugosi's Dead," on the independent record label Small Wonder Records. Although it did not make the pop charts, it became the de facto goth rock anthem, staying in the U.K. independent charts for years. Three months later, the group signed with Beggars Banquet's subsidiary label, 4AD. The group's second single, "Dark Entries," was released in January 1980. Following their first European tour, Bauhaus released their third single, "Terror Couple Kill Colonel," in the summer of that year, which became a hit on the indie charts.

1. Double Dare

2. In The Flat Field

3. A God in an Alcove

4. Dive

5. The Spy in the Cab

6. Small Talk Stinks

7. St. Vitus Dance

8. Stigmata Martyr

9. Nerves

Be the first to write a review for this item OR just rate it