In Brief

Blending its trademark Stonesy romp-rock with funky dance-pop, INXS almost wins your heart all over again--no kidding--with this totally imperfect yet rousing album. There’s nothing wildly experimental about it, but Michael Hutchence’s Jagger-ish grunts and groans are very sexy, and the band’s overt passion buoys even its weakest songs. But, since INXS (which plays the Mayan Theatre on April 24) hasn’t morphed into electro-vixens a la U2, does anyone care?

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).

Hear the Music

* Excerpts from these albums and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: https:/ /www.latimes.com/soundclips