As excited as I was for the Bauhaus reunion
tour over the last couple of years, I don't think I could say
the same for a new Bauhaus studio album. Perhaps the band's dedicated
following of absinthe drinking, Dracula worshiping goth misfits
were pretty blown away by the prospects, but anyone who doesn't
proclaim Edgar Allen Poe as their favorite author probably shares
the same opinion as I do; that goth-rock is mostly dead.
There are times on Go Away White when it
seems like even Bauhaus, the godfathers of Goth, thinks this.
Admittedly, the jagged post punk anti-chords, tense atmospherics
and oddball bouncy bass abound in tracks like "Undone"
and "Endless Summer of The Damned" fits in satisfyingly
with their 80's work. But on tracks like "Too Much 21'st
Century" and "International Bullet Proof Talent",
Bauhaus retreat to more straight-forward, pop-ladden, Glam-Rock
influences, matching T. Rex style guitar chugging with vocals
that eerily resemble latter-day Bowie or Nick Cave.
Now there's no denying that the hooks on
these tracks are inescapable. But similar tracks like "Adrenalin"
and "Black Stone Heart" don't fare even half as memorably,
and one gets the feeling that it would've been smarter to do away
with this tired rock-posturing completely, in order to craft a
more focused and effective blast of nostalgia. Especially when
the more traditionally goth tracks of Go Away White are done so
well. The latter track in particular, has the trouble of having
to follow the wonderful slow-burn that is "Mirror Remains",
which moves from it's initial groove into a blend of snake rattles,
hand claps, free jazz piano fiddling and ear piercing noise.
So maybe Goth-Rock still has a fighting
chance in this decade, but that doesn't change the fact that even
one of it's founding fathers won't put complete confidence into
it's power. Closing songs, "Zikir" and "The Dog's
A Vapour" are atmospheric, spooky winks to the goth sub-culture,
both of which actually succeed at using moans, groans and reverb
to be genuinely unsettling and...well...scary. But unlike Dinosaur
Jr, with their excellent reunion album last year, Bauhaus just
can't seem to put full faith into the style that's so obviously
their greatest strength. Go Away White is a good album. But it
could've been great. And as a final chapter in the Bauhaus legacy,
it's a little too compromised to be anything other than a bit
of a disappointment. (Aron Fischer)
For
fans of: Nick Cave, David Bowie, Joy Division, T. Rex, Public
Image Ltd, The Cure
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