Bauhaus: Go Away White

Bauhaus was steeped in theatricality, but there

was surprisingly little drama to its return from the dead 10 years ago. In

fact, the band's sporadic tours since its 1998 reformation wound up leeching a

lot of the mystique from the goth godfather. At the same time, Peter Murphy and

crew finally came into their own trademark ghoulishness—after all,

there's nothing like a few wrinkles to augment a gaunt, skull-like countenance.

So, having grown more human and more eerie, Bauhaus has

unleashed Go Away White, its first studio album since 1983. Funnily enough, The

Beatles are the first thing heard on the disc—specifically, the purloined

bassline of "Taxman" that fuels "Too Much 21st Century." But inspirations

aside, Bauhaus now sounds more like Bauhaus than it ever did—and yet it

doesn't sink into self-parody, even when cannibalizing its own lyrics and

death-knell guitar. While many cult bands can't make a dignified comeback to

save their lives, the raw, slithering, true-to-its-roots Go Away White is more than a swansong. It's

a minor masterpiece that proves Bauhaus has been nicely preserved.