Mask [Omnibus Edition] [Box]

Performer: Bauhaus (UK)
Producer: Bauhaus
Distributor: Distribution Select

Notes: Bauhaus: Peter Murphy (vocals); Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins, David J. Engineers include: Mike Hedges, Kenny Jones, John Etchells. Audio Mixers: Peter Edwards; Steve Webbon; Mark Wallis; Steve Webbon; Bauhaus ; Peter Edwards. Audio Remasterers: Jason Mitchell; John Dent; Jason Mitchell. Recording information: Hammersmith Palais, London, GB (11/09/1981); JAM Recording Limited, London, GB (11/09/1981); Maida Vale Studio, London, GB (11/09/1981); The Playground Recording Studio, London, GB (11/09/1981). Photographers: Chris Garnham; Sheila Rock; Graham Trott; Stella Watts. In 1981, Bauhaus had no competition in the field of "Goth" music and could afford to experiment a little. MASK is the group's second album, and it contains some of their best work. There is the groove of "Dancing," a track that contains one of the album's two curious references to ballet dancer Nijinsky (the other is in "Muscle In Plastic"), and the creepy "Hollow Hills," its bass-driven skeleton decorated with distant peals of feedback and sparse drumming. The title cut features Peter Murphy singing over a backwards music track that adds considerable menace to the bizarre lyrics. Originally 10 songs long, the CD adds five supplemental tracks gathered from singles. These extra tracks include the comparatively straightforward white reggae of "Harry" and a weird 4-part song wherein each band member takes the lead. Bassist David Jay sets the falsely soothing tale of a trial to the rattle of a drum machine. Murphy's piece is a guide to making fish cakes (?!). Drummer Kevin Haskins provides a series of such suggestions as "Avoid risks, stay at home," and guitarist Daniel Ash contributes a short acoustic guitar piece with backwards vocals. Managing the sometimes hard-to-negotiate trick of expanding their sound while retaining all the qualities which got them attention to begin with, on Mask the members of Bauhaus consciously stretched themselves into newer areas of music and performance, resulting in an album that was arguably even better than the band's almost flawless debut. More familiar sides of the band were apparent from the get-go; opening number "Hair of the Dog," one of the band's best songs, starts with a double-tracked squalling guitar solo before turning into a stomping, surging flow, carefully paced by sudden silences and equally sudden returns to the music, while Murphy details cases of mental addictions in pithy phrases. The energy wasn't all just explosive angst and despair, though; the one-two punches of "Kick in the Eye" and "In Fear of Fear" have as much hip-shaking groove and upbeat swing to them as portentous gloom (Ash's sax skronk on the latter, as well as on the similarly sharp "Dancing," is a particularly nice touch). Elsewhere, numerous flashes of the band's quirky sense of humor -- something often missed by both fanatical followers and negative critics both -- make an appearance; perhaps most amusing is the dry spoken-word lyric beginning "Of Lillies and Remains," as David J details a goofily grotesque situation as much Edward Gorey as Edgar Allen Poe. Add to that three of the most dramatic things the band ever recorded -- the charging, keyboard-accompanied "The Passion of Lovers," the slow, dark fairy-tale-gone-wrong "Hollow Hills," and the wracked, trudging title track, where the sudden appearance of an acoustic guitar turns a great song into a near-perfect blend of ugliness and sheer beauty -- and the end result was a perfect trouncing of the sophomore-slump myth. [The Omnibus Edition of Mask was a three-disc package including the original 10-track album on the first disc, 17 singles and outtakes on the second disc (eight of them unreleased demos or rough mixes), and, on the third disc, a 17-track set recorded live at the Hammersmith Palais in November 1981.] ~ Ned Raggett

Record Collector (magazine) (p.91) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[MASK] remains a definitive statement, from the Apollo launch of 'Hair Of The Dog,' crowd-pleasing 'Dancing' and 'Muscle In Plastic' to the emotive 'Hollow Hills'..."

Ultimately, Bauhaus became known as the godfathers of the goth scene, but their brief, prolific career (1979-1983) showed far more stylistic variation than their progeny might suggest. They mixed Bowie/Eno-influenced postpunk with dub, electronics, and a moody sense of songcraft that was both unnerving and infectious. After the group's breakup, singer Peter Murphy went on to a solo career, while guitarist David J formed the considerably poppier Love And Rockets. From 1998 on, the band would occasionally re-form for concert tours.

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