Bauhaus
Lagartija Nick

THE REVIEW

A devil grabs a commoner by the arm, a moment before whipping her properly. Three little monsters, with oval heads and slender bodies, laugh heartily. A matron with a broom in hand watches the scene amused. Here's "Lagartija Nick," an adrenaline-filled and powerful single from the Northampton band, released at the end of 1982.

Back when vinyl still allowed music to be available in multiple formats, the record was released in two versions, 7 and 12 inches. The maxi-single contains four tracks, the first of which, "Lagartija Nick," is one of the most successful expressions of the Bauhaus style: it is an aggressive, rhythmic, and sulfurous rock song like the cover image. And it alludes to masochism, as can be seen from the lyrics "He feels like Sacher-Masoch / He enjoys feeling pain".

The second track is "Watch That Grandad Go," in which Daniel Ash's harsh guitar stands out, also playing the sax on this occasion. A certainly "minor" song in the Bauhaus repertoire, yet not without interest, especially for Peter Murphy's lively vocal performance that combines multiple styles, from singing to declaiming, and almost theatrical interpretation.

The subsequent "Paranoia, Paranoia" says a lot about itself starting from the title... It is an instrumental track devoid of harmonic or melodic structure, where Kevin Haskins' drums keep the rhythm, with sounds echoed, coughs and laughs, and the start of the guitar riff from "Silent Hedges" from the third album. At one point, a voice declaims the chorus "paranoia, paranoia, laaa la-la la-la". In short, a divertissement in every respect, perhaps improvised during a recording session.

The single concludes worthily with a live version of "In the Flat Field" recorded in Paris. The sound quality leaves much to be desired, but the strength and energy of this memorable track remain unchanged and fill us with memories and gratitude towards this great band.