Pitchfork

If you've been under some huge asteroid crater on a distant planet feeding yourself with strange alien worms and being subject to "I Love Lucy" reruns 23 hours a day, perhaps you haven't heard that Bauhaus has reunited for a world tour 15 years after their last show in London.

The shows have been bringing out the likes of seemingly unlikely Bauhaus fans from Billy Zane to Billy Corgan, who joined the undead fab- four onstage with Jane's Addiction's Steve Perkins for the second of two shows in Chicago. All shows thus far have been to sold- out audiences, though it hasn't been too difficult to buy last- minute tickets from scalpers at reasonable prices. Rumors are also running wild that the band is going to release new material, after a brief stop in a Chicago studio to lay down some ideas and record their cover of Dead Can Dance's "Severance."

Until then, and pending new albums from both Love and Rockets and Peter Murphy, 4AD has finally released the band's first album In The Flat Field to audiences domestically. Although the label touts the merits of the album containing "extra tracks," this is the exact same track listing that's been available as a UK import for years, which is the only way you'd have the disc anyway. Thus, there are bonus tracks if you happen to own the cassette copy or are fortunate enough to own the vinyl. Also, this means that you can find the disc for under $15, instead of the usual $22+ from your favorite import shop.

However, this isn't the same disc. Hundreds of engineers spent millions of hours in the studio with the original tapes re-mastering them into a redefined sound for this release. Okay, that is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but the disc does sound notably cleaner, and some of the more brilliant moments of the recording sessions are finally translated at a perceivable level for the listener.

Much less muddy than the original release, the new release shows the vibrant young band in all its glory. Starting strong with three of the band's more memorable tracks, "Dark Entries," "Double Dare," and the title track, "In The Flat Field," the disc quickly shows off the innovation that was the basis of Bauhaus. Keeping in mind that the term "goth" hadn't even been invented at the time of this record's release, Bauhaus managed to dance around their influences and have fun while doing it. Much less serious than the "red blood and black roses" goth bands of modern times, Bauhaus demonstrates how they can take themselves less seriously with the ridiculous lyrics of "St. Vitus Dance," a song about club-goer with special lighting effects attached to his utility belt. Let's not also forget that "Spy In The Cab" is about the fare- meter in a taxi. Also playing around, the band records a brilliant cover of T.Rex's "Telegram Sam."

If you do happen to be stuck with the domestic tape release of this album and haven't decided whether or not to pick up this reissue, the ending track "Crowds" should highly influence your decision. Sort of an acoustic "fuck you" number, this is the kind of track that really makes the band stick out in musical history, exposing the darker side of the emotions not always present in their other tracks.