Pop Music Reviews : For King Swamp, Product Is King

For its local debut Wednesday at the Whisky, King Swamp lugged along enough dry ice to fill one of the arenas it so clearly aims to play. Everything about this English band’s debut album reeks of shrewd calculation, and the slickness of the Whisky show confirmed that the musical maneuvering may pay off in dollars, if not sense. With King Swamp, it would seem, Product is King.

The quintet (expanded to six members for touring purposes) didn’t do much of anything to excess, but it was plenty INXS-ive, all right. The voice, the stance, the haircut and the quasi-paisley vest of 22-year-old lead singer Walter Wray all came together to suggest INXS’ singer Michael Hutchence, as did the way his support team added superfluous little funk flourishes to the mainstream hard-rock ‘n’ pop mix. Wray doesn’t always sound like Hutchence, mind you; when the band kicks into high gear, he can do a pretty fair Ian Astbury, too.

All this harmless, well-executed banality might not be such an irritant if it issued forth from Sunset Strip freshmen. But founding members and songwriters Dave Allen and Steve Halliwell both hail from Shriekback (Allen was in Gang of Four as well), a substantially more ambitious pedigree that scarcely prepares one for the decidedly non-”alternative” shtick of their new outfit, redeemed only by the relative catchiness of “Man Behind the Gun” and its occasional like.

Take note: KROQ-FM did a live broadcast of the show, but these boys have their sights on the nation’s KLOSes. Meet the new wave, same as the old wave.