Album Review: Ninth by Peter Murphy

While the lesser Peter Murphy solo albums are burdened by too much dark mysticism and foggy, tension-free music, Ninth sounds alive, or at least, undead as his fans, dubbed “gothlings,” may prefer. These tracks were road-tested on tour before Murphy entered the studio, and this is palpable as songs build and peak, delivering all the drama that made the man’s work with Bauhaus so gripping. Granted there’s no “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” here, but “I Spit Roses” gives “Cuts You Up” a run for its money, while the closing “Crème de la Crème” is a new high point for Murphy the singer as he delivers a complicated, almost-Broadway-styled number with equal heart and skill.

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Former Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy is unique in vocals and appearance. The years have been extraordinarily kind to these traits, and while the cover art for Ninth has Mr. Murphy painted up like Harvey “Two-Face” Dent (were he portrayed by Al Pacino, that is), the album’s music lingers in a sonic age when Joy Division still reigned supreme. Nostalgia for the sake of a cheap sell is typically wanting, such as KoRn’s recent lackluster backpedaling; resurrection out of necessity, well… Peter Murphy could have done virtually anything now, and his early records, both with Bauhaus and after, would remain unscathed.

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