release date: Oct. 5, 1982
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Bauhaus
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 2. "Silent Hedges" (4 / 5) - "In the Night" - 5. "Spirit" - 8. "The Three Shadows Part 3" - 9. "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything" ( 4 / 5)
3rd studio album by Bauhaus following one year after Mask is a more experimental album pointing in several directions. The band plays with punk rock, art rock, reggae, and something that should later be labeled industrial, as well as applying acoustic instruments. The track "Spirit" comes in two very different versions, and this (the album version) is not my preferred version of the song. A more pop-mixed edition can be found on the single release "Spirit" (Jun. '82), which is also issued on "The Singles: 1981-1983" (Oct. '83).
The album is fine but not on level with the band's previous two albums. Its biggest flaw is the many styles and directions it points to. It's like an album of disorientation: "Look, we have so many ideas, so where to go from here?"
Once again the front cover is a painting by guitarist Daniel Ash.
[ allmusic.com, Record Collector 3 / 5 ]
