Your Soul Becomes a Fish (The Sky's Gone Out - Bauhaus)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	The Sky's Gone Out - Bauhaus
Date:	13/02/08 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Builds on the style of the debut, and indulges in successful experiments.

Disadvantages: Some songs are a little weak, or rely too much on volume gimmicks, and lack structure.

With the release of the darker and multi-faceted 'The Sky's Gone Out,' it was almost as if Bauhaus' mediocre sophomore release never happened, as many songs and styles here sound like direct continuations and perfections of those attempted in the debut. Vocalist Peter Murphy is at his best here, starting off energetic and shouty in the opening song before returning to the Mark E. Smith style on 'In the Night' before that song heads towards a more satisfying punk finale, and even attempting a near-ballad in 'Spirit' that avoids the pitfalls of usual ballads which, as you no doubt know, are rubbish. He still sounds a lot like Bowie, but thankfully in a good way.

The more experimental side of this album is primarily held up by the 'Three Shadows' trilogy that opened the second side of the original LP (I'm guessing; I wasn't cool enough to be alive in those days), and although it doesn't really work as a single, extended epic, it's still one of the more interesting pieces here. The first part is a nice, ambient instrumental in the style of Brian Eno (just to cement the Berlin-Bowie comparison in case anyone hadn't noticed yet), the second is a little more disturbing lyrically and almost a self-parody of the band's darker tendencies, and the finale is a completely ludicrous, mostly fish-based tale with accompanying piano. But for all these experimental tendencies that strange people like me enjoy, there's still enough on offer here for normies, most successful in the depressive melodic song 'All We Ever Wanted Was Everything,' which seems to be one of the band's best-known, and the energetic 'Third Uncle' which remains compelling throughout and features some nice double-tracked vocals for added effect.

This is still far from a perfect album despite being the finest example of this type of music I've heard (whatever exactly I mean by that), as some songs are still a little structurally lacking, especially the confused finale 'Exquisite Corpse' which features some really great stuff amidst a sea of confused ramblings and overlong silences. There's also a tendency to rely on volume trickery to bring songs to a conclusive crescendo, most evident in 'Spirit' which is noticeably quieter at the beginning and returns to a louder sound at the end. This is Bauhaus' best album, and the last to be of any real importance, and it strikes a slightly uncomfortable balance between mainstream appeal and self-indulgence that makes it all the more satisfying for me.

1. Third Uncle
2. Silent Hedges
3. In the Night
4. Swing the Heartache
5. Spirit
6. The Three Shadows, Pt. 1
7. The Three Shadows, Pt. 2
8. The Three Shadows, Pt. 3
9. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything
10. Exquisite Corpse

Summary: Bauhaus' third album (1982).