Bauhaus Albums Ranked

Bauhaus is an English rock band, formed in Northampton, England, in 1978. The group consists of Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone), Peter Murphy (vocals, occasional instruments), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass). The band was originally named Bauhaus 1919 in reference to the first operating year of the German art school Bauhaus, although they shortened the name within a year of formation. One of the pioneers of gothic rock, Bauhaus were known for their dark image and gloomy sound, although they mixed many genres, including dub, glam rock, psychedelia, and funk. After Bauhaus’ breakup, Murphy formed Dalis Car with Japan’s bassist Mick Karn before beginning a solo career later on, while Ash and Haskins continued as Tones on Tail and, later, reunited with David J to form Love and Rockets. Both enjoyed greater commercial success in the United States than Bauhaus had but disappeared from the charts in their homeland. Bauhaus eventually reunited for a 1998 tour, again from 2005 to 2008, and once again in 2019. Here are all of Bauhaus albums ranked.

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10. The Bela Session 

“White on white translucent black capes, Back on the rack, Bela Lugosi’s dead.” When Peter Murphy preaches these opening lines, I doubt he knew he had just heralded in gothic rock and go on to influence an entire sub-culture for generations; the likes of My Chemicals Romance and The Cure owe many thanks to. The Bela Session is an EP featuring recordings from Bauhaus’ first studio session in 1979. While opener Bela Lugosi’s Dead is certainly the star of the show (and the sole reason many people bought this thing) with its vivid and theatrical lyrics, tracks like Some Faces hint at things to come on their debut 1980 LP In The Flat Field proving they weren’t just one-track-and-done.”

9. Crackle 

“Bauhaus were a band who made great singles and crap albums. This is the only album that anyone needs to own. Nothing here is particularly scary and in truth its more glam than goth. I dont know why they included “Burning From the Inside” as its too long and pointless. I really like the last song though, its a real tearjerker for lonely vampires everywhere. The only truly innovative song they ever did was “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” but theres still so much to enjoy.”

8. 4AD 

“This is a mini lp as the vinyl version I have plays at 45rpm. Named after the famous avant-guard art School in Germany the music of Bauhaus is post punk early goth rock. Probably the closest to punk I ever dared to stray. I still give this an occasional spin. Telegram Sam is the best track. Dark and gloomy stuff but ok when I’m in the frame of mind to listen to it.”

7. Go Away White 

“A cruelly underrated lp. I think it is excellent. The anger and despair are palpable, as is the exhaustion and anomie. Unfortunately, the dark electricity that made this band so great drove them apart in the end, but at least this last effort isn’t a profanation on their corpus.”

6. Press The Eject And Give Me The Tape 

“Despite its title designed to make it look like a semi-official bootleg and its original release as a mere limited-edition bonus LP with the first copies of The Sky’s Gone Out, the stunning Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape is one of those rare live albums that really match an artist’s studio discography.”

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5. 1979–1983 

“You should have some Cure in your collection as well, but for different reasons, they are more Dreamy and Bauhaus is more edgy, But both at times can have the same effect. Get some Susie also, There are just two best of “Once upon a time , and Twice upon a time”. Peter Murphys solo stuff is great and his voice is spectacular, at the least get his best of.”

4. The Sky’s Gone Out 

“It’s probably an unpopular opinion but mostly everything else Bauhaus released seems kind of one dimensional to me. There are a few songs I like a lot throughout their discography such as Of Lilies And Remains and Bella Lugosi’s Dead, but everything great about Bauhaus can be found in it’s most creative form on this album.”

3. Mask 

“Mask is at once more varied and more homogeneous than In the Flat Field, if that makes any sense. It contains decaying glam rock, angular post-punk, white dub, chilled funk, haunting balladry and more, yet it never feels disjointed and presents a unity of purpose that its predecessor lacked. Daniel Ash is sadly a little more discrete, which has the diametrical merit of leaving a lot of room for the extraordinary interaction between David J and Kevin Haskins who, possibly in part because they were brothers, constituted one of the very best and most flexible rhythm sections of the post-punk era, perhaps only surpassed by Steven Severin and Budgie of the Banshees.”

2. Burning From The Inside 

“On Burning From the Inside, Bauhaus were beginning to fall apart as a group, but still managed to make great music in the process. This was largely recorded without lead singer Peter Murphy, who was very ill at the time, with David J and Daniel Ash doing vocals instead, thus making the album sound at times more like a Love and Rockets or Tones on Tail. “

1. In The Flat Field 

“Dark. One of the darkest albums I’ve heard. Honestly, ‘In the Flat Field’ reaches a depth within me that is very difficult to explain… It’s atmospheric but it maintains an insane rhythm and levels of mind blowing distortion. I guess this is not an album to listen every day. It’s more like a compulsive sporadic listening album that deserves its own place on your mind.”