Search - INXS :: Underneath the Colours

Not bad second attempt for a young band

Cameron | Brisbane AUSTRALIA | 02/25/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Not a bad second attempt for a young band at the time; very similar to their debut album. Basically a rough little rock album from the New Wave period. Some great stand out tracks like 'Stay Young' and 'Night of Rebellion', but many fillers as well.



This album and their debut album basically sound like warm up for their third album, 'Shabooh Shabah' which was to take the australian alternative music scene by storm in the early 80s.



This is a great buy for the serious Inxs fan, especially if you are not Australian as I doubt any of these tracks made it outside of Australian college radio at the time of release. Fans from their commercial period will be found wanting however, and I wouldn't suggest this is the Inxs album for you.



However it still gets several plays a year from me, and that was worth it in my book!"

Another gem waiting to be rediscovered

Kevin Parrish Claussen | Seattle, WA United States | 11/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like their first album, "INXS", this album features straight ahead rock tracks and more reggae/ska tinged new wave sounds. Lyrically the album is more sophisticated than their fairly wacky debut. "Stay Young" and "Horizon" are both excellent. Most of the songs have really catchy and well constructed verse sections mixed in with questionable choruses. A good example is "What would you do" which starts off like a promising rock song and dramatically shifts to some dork fest for the main chorus. "Just to learn again" is another half briliant, half awkward song. You can tell the band is reaching for the stars song writing wise, but it would be another year before they'd grab onto them. You wont get anything on here approaching the brilliance of "Don't Change" or "What you need" but it's a curious record, and one you grow to like more with each listen. Hutchence also sings more with a young mans bark than with the sex symbol celibrity croon he would years later.
I'll bet these songs sounded great live in 1981 Australia."