Don't freak, but the first thing that comes slithering out of the new Bauhaus record aren't ghoulish echoes from these goth godfather's past. Instead, on the album opener "Too Much 21st Century", a "Taxman"-like bassline shepherds a procession of T. Rex guitars and lush Love & Rockets–styled backing vocals. And herein suggests some of the challenges faced when a band with such a singular voice like Bauhaus takes 25 years to write its fifth studio album. Especially considering the many career re-defining moments between the final chapter-- when in 1983 these legendary post-punks threw in the towel (the first time) and eventually formed the two less-goth and more commercially successful acts, Love & Rockets, and frontman Peter Murphy's solo work. A more recent epilogue-- a series of reunion tours-- eventually birthed this impressive and surprisingly true-to-form swan song.

Yes, sadly, this is the final (!) slab from these insanely influential art rockers, who managed to wield epic, moody masterpieces from such unlikely materials as glam, dub, punk, and funk. After more than two decades painting (primarily) pop songs with a different pallet, when they reconvene as Bauhaus they can't seem to shake the shapes and sounds they developed decades ago-- even if they're still filtered through the work of Love & Rockets and Murphy solo. Tracks like the aforementioned opener, plus rockers "Adrenalin" and "International Bulletproof Talent", sound like the glam-side of Bauhaus-- complete with Murphy's Transylvanian Bowie vocals-- but re-worked with the Rockets' detached and breezy sensibility. Then there are tunes like "Saved", "Zikir", and "Undone" that feature a pronounced Murphy influence: synth-heavy Middle-Eastern–flirting drones and/or 80s-esque alterna-pop. Elsewhere, authentically retro numbers like "Endless Summer of the Damned" (an obvious shout out to goth nation) and "Mirror Remains" would've fit nicely either on The Sky's Gone Out or Burning From the Inside.

The real gems here, however, are the tunes that point to what Bauhaus could've become had they continued this comeback for another album or two. Both "Black Stone Heart" and "The Dog's a Vapour"-- the latter was actually recorded back in 1998 during their initial reunion shows and previously featured on the soundtrack for the animated film sequel Heavy Metal 2000-- wheeze with brooding atmospherics and shine with a playful sense of experimentation. "Black Stone" melds dark and dancey rhythms and Murphy's novel multi-personality melodramatics with hand claps, whistling, and stilted piano while "Vapour" creeps around in the fog slowly building into ominous guitar sirens. Bauhaus can hold their head high, mission accomplished; but with no victory-lap tour, no more studio albums, and several awesome new tunes pointing at an un-actualized future, it all feels rather anti-climatic and lacking closure. One more time: Bauhaus are dead. Undead, undead, undead.