Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Elegantly Wasted (Mercury) (star) (star)
In a weird way it’s easier being an INXS fan than a U2 fan. The Australian sextet rarely experiments (especially in the past few years) beyond its fast, ready-for-the-stadium rock sound, so you don’t have to worry about unfamiliar noises or new styles. “Show Me,” the first track of the band’s 10th studio album, is straightforward INXS: Michael Hutchence sings like a rock star, and the rhythm section plays fast but without originality, like the Rolling Stones of 1991 instead of 1971. Shifting gears causes fatal momentum loss — “Everything I Do” moves too fast for a ballad, and the slower “Searching” needs something beyond an uninteresting drum pattern and Hutchence’s whiney crooning.
