TRUE COLOURS

''Split Enz'' was a creative rock band from New Zealand who released several interesting albums in the mid late seventies.

But "True Colors" doesn't belong to them. Little creativity. Little craziness. Very few good songs. In a word: not a good album. The band developed a very good new wave sound in its previous album "Frenzy" but this one is mostly pop oriented.

Some reminiscence of the new wave days (even punkish) is to be heard with "Shark Attack". I can live pretty well with this song, but I doubt that it will fill lots of proghead hearts with joy.

Several songs sounds really flat ("What's The Matter With You") but at times a nice surprise appears like the melodic ballad "I Hope I Never". Simple, full of passion. Great vocals and charming background piano are such a good combination.

A song like "Nobody Takes Me Seriously" is totally in line with the band's best work. Dynamic and catchy, it reminds the sound from "Frenzy". It shows that the band can still produce excellent songs, full of rhythm and originality. But unfortunately, there aren't many like this on "True Colors".

Decent pop music, slightly electro oriented ("Poor Boy") is definitely worth a listen but won't bring you to heaven. Still, the funny side of their music is present on this album: "How Can I Resist Her" is just . irresistible. "Devo" comes immediately to my mind when I listen to this song which is my favourite from these true colors.

The entry of "Split Enz" in the eighties corresponds to their weakest album so far. Two stars since it is only average. If you really want to experiment the best of the band, I can only recommend their excellent debut "Mental Notes".