Keeps going and going and going...
It seems like forever since Bauhaus first hit the scene in 1978. And it seems like forever since Bauhaus disbanded in 1983. For that matter it seems like forever since Bauhaus reformed for a reunion in 1998 (a veritable goth's wet dream). And it seems like forever since they re-disbanded...

Meanwhile, during essentially all of the banding and disbanding, frontman Peter Murphy has been churning out solid music as part of Bauhaus and also as a solo artist. He continues his trend with his latest release, Dust.

Turkish Twist
No, I'm not talking about that amusement park ride that makes kids puke by the dozen. I'm talking about the Turkish influences on the album.

Murphy has spent the past several years living in Turkey. Can you imagine the blending of Middle Eastern and Western sounds occuring on this album?

It would but unfair to call Dust a goth album, though critics somewhere are inevitably doing so. The more I think about it, Dust is incredibly difficult to categorize. Once I would have simply filed it under "alternative."

But like goth, "alternative" seems to encompass so many things to point of being ridiculous.

So, what is it?

Peter Murphy fans will definitely enjoy this album, not only for it clearly being Murphy-esque, but also for the newly interpretted versions f three previously released song. The epic re-envisioning of My Last Two Weeks is one of the highlights of the album.

But "Murphy-esque" is probably a pretty description for those unfamiliar with Peter Murphy. I would classify this album along the same lines as R.E.M.'s Peter Buck's side project Tuatara. It's a blending of different musical cultures placed in a Western context. Something different, something definitely worth getting a taste of.

For additional information, visit PeterMurphy.org.