In the Flat Field is the debut studio album by English gothic rock band Bauhaus. It was recorded between December 1979 and July 1980, and released on 3 November 1980 by record label 4AD, the first full-length release on that label. The cover artwork is a reproduction of Duane Michals' 1949 photograph, Homage to Puvis de Chavannes.[2]
In the Flat Field is considered one of the first gothic rock albums.[3]
Recording
Following a 30-date tour, Bauhaus went to Southern Studios in Wood Green, London, to record their first album. The band had a clear conception of how they wanted the record to sound, and so they opted to produce it themselves. While most of the album was completed in time for the planned release date of September 1980, the group found it difficult to record a version of "Double Dare" as good as the one they had performed on DJ John Peel's BBC Radio 1 programme. The band applied to the BBC for permission to use the Peel session version on the album, but due to obstruction from the Musicians' Union, the process took over a month.[4]
In the Flat Field was released on 3 November 1980 by record label 4AD.[6] It was met with a negative response from professional critics in the UK, but topped the UK Independent Albums Chart[7] and made the UK Albums Chart for one week at No. 72.[8][7]
The album was first released on CD by 4AD in April 1988 with eight bonus tracks, including three non-album singles: "Dark Entries", "Terror Couple Kill Colonel", and a cover of T. Rex's "Telegram Sam".[9] Five of these bonus tracks had been previously compiled on the 4AD EP in 1983.[10]
On 19 October 2009, 4AD and Beggars Banquet reissued the album as an "Omnibus Edition", featuring a 24-bit John Dent remaster of the original nine-track album on CD in a replica mini-LP sleeve (with corresponding inner sleeve featuring the lyrics), plus a 16-track bonus disc of singles, outtakes, alternate recordings, and original versions. The set came inside a semi-long box, coupled with a 48-page book that included comments from band members, photos, complete lyrics, complete tour date information for 1979 and 1980, and an essay by Andrew Brooksbank on the formation and creation of the band, the singles, and the album.
While In the Flat Field received positive reviews in fanzine publications, the album was "absolutely slated" by the British weekly music press according to Bauhaus biographer Ian Shirley.[15] Andy Gill of NME described the album as "nine meaningless moans and flails bereft of even the most cursory contour of interest, a record which deserves all the damning adjectives usually levelled at grim-faced 'modernists,'" ultimately dismissing them as "a hip Black Sabbath".[5] Dave McCullough of Sounds was also negative: "No songs. Just tracks (ugh). Too priggish and conceited. Sluggish indulgence instead of hoped for goth-ness. Coldly catatonic."[16]
The American Trouser Press, however, described it as "a dense, disjointed patchwork of sounds and uncertain feelings, supported by a pressured, incessant beat. Delving deep into the dark side of the human psyche, Bauhaus conjures up unsettling images of a world given over to death and decay."[17]
In his AllMusic retrospective review, Ned Raggett praised the album, writing that "few debut albums ever arrived so nearly perfectly formed".[3] while Treble's Jeff Terich described the songs as "twisted, glam-inspired post-punk raveups".[18] Jonathan Selzer of Classic Rock magazine described the album as "remarkably self-possessed, a distillation of influences down to a potent curtains-drawn universe of Bauhaus's own."[11]
Legacy
AllMusic's Raggett wrote: "In the Flat Field practically single-handedly invented what remains for many as the stereotype of goth music—wracked, at times spindly vocals about despair and desolation of many kinds, sung over mysterious and moody music".[3] In 2012, Sonic Seducer ranked In the Flat Field at No. 4 on its list of "10 Key Albums for the Gothic Scene", calling it a work that had shattered outdated ideas of rock music.[19] Music author Dave Thompson described it as "one of the most courageous albums of the age."[20] Writing for Louder Than War, John Robb noted it as "a staple record for the true post-punk scene".[21] American musician and audio engineer Steve Albini called the album a "masterpiece" in a 2020 interview.[22]
^"PureMix Mentors - Andrew Talks to Awesome People Featuring Steve Albini". YouTube. PureMix. Retrieved 12 January 2021. Steve Albini: "They [Bauhaus] are a fantastic band. …Yeah, they were an inspirational great band. I saw a show of theirs, they played a rehearsal space in Chicago called the Space Place and Naked Raygun opened the show and yeah it was an absolutely astonishing show. I love their early singles and their first album, I think it's fantastic. I think that first album is a masterpiece and I think their singles are incredible."
