You'd have thought that Michael Hutchence and his INXS bandmates would have learned from the mediocrity of their debut album.
You'd have thought that, as the band developed into a solid unit, they would have determined the direction they wanted their sound to go, and they would have begun the process of polishing it into a fine sheen.
Their sophomore release Underneath The Colours, for the most part, can be summed up in one word: meh. While there are additional tentative steps made towards the sound they would become world-famous for, they still were failing to create solid efforts that captivated listeners from beginning to end; in fact, there are times it feels as if they've taken a step backwards.
What strikes me about the bulk of this album is that the songs feel a lot longer than their timings suggest they are - and, in this case, this is not a good thing. "Horizons" seems to stretch on ad infinitum, but doesn't have the power to hook the listener into the message they're trying to convey. Similarly, the title track and "Big Go Go" have initial signs that they might have some promise, but this quickly evaporates in sub-par songwriting and performances that often feel like they're just going through the motions.
The thing is, INXS does have moments where it sounds like lessons were learned, and they were taking their sound into a different direction. "Fair Weather Ahead" turns out to be an apt title, as it's the first real instance of Hutchence and crew showing some definite promise; the follow-up track "Night Of Rebellion" keeps that momentum going.
And, then... flat out back into meh. Tracks like "Barbarian" and "Just To Learn Again" offer no promise like the previous two tracks did, and INXS slides back into the old patterns they laid out on their self-titled debut.
It's understandable that bands sometimes took some time to fully develop their sounds and styles in order to reach for the brass ring of success; it's obvious from their history that INXS would eventually do this. But Underneath The Colours just has the feel of a car musically stuck in the mud, and is frantically spinning its wheels trying to get back onto the road. Too bad there aren't enough songs that suggest - with this release, at least - that INXS was freeing themselves from the dreck.
Underneath The Colours is another album from INXS that magnifies the fact that the band was still very much in development. Sometimes, though, it just didn't seem like they were making a spirited enough effort to push themselves forward, and this one ends up being a disappointment.