In the Flat Field was released on 3 November 1980 by record label 4AD. It was met with a negative response from critics, but topped the UK Independent Albums Chart and made the UK Albums Chart for one week, peaking at No. 72.
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." Five of these bonus tracks had been previously compiled on the 4AD EP in 1983.
On 19 October 2009, 4AD/Beggars Banquet reissued the album as an "Omnibus Edition", featuring the 24-bit John Dent remastered CD of the original nine-track album 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.
or journalist Andy Gill, the dark atmosphere of the record was reminiscent of previous works by groups like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam and the Ants, and Joy Division. In his AllMusic review, critic Ned Raggett described Bauhaus as a "glam-inspired rock band", said that singer Peter Murphy channeled both Iggy Pop and David Bowie, and compared Daniel Ash's guitar playing to Mick Ronson's. Raggett noted that the album concluded with "a dramatic ending" with the song "Nerves"

CD single for their most famous song, backed with 'Boys'.Slimline jewel case. 1979 release on Small Wonder, reissuedon CD in 1988 for the label.

Bauhaus expanded their style a bit on Mask, particularly by incorporating keyboards and acoustic guitar on songs such as "The Passion of Lovers", and funk rhythms and saxophone on tracks like "Kick in the Eye", "Dancing" and "In Fear of Fear".
The album cover is a drawing by guitarist Daniel Ash. The original artwork for the album was a gatefold sleeve with blue text on the inside and a stark black-and-white image of the band. On later editions this inside was replaced with white text and a montage from the promotional video for the song "Mask".
In his retrospective review of the album, Ned Raggett of AllMusic called the album "arguably even better than the band's almost flawless debut".Trouser Press described the album as "[Bauhaus'] finest achievement".[6] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In the album's entry, Australia's Fiend Magazine editor and contributing critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas wrote that "The sounds were harder edged than those of Bauhaus' debut, but the introduction of more pop-friendly melodies helped to make Mask digestible for a mainstream audience."