New Moods, Old Flaws

**DURAN DURAN. “Big Thing.” Capitol. True substance may be beyond Duran Duran’s reach, but at least they’re trying to be something more than the teen-hearthrob fashion princes that have been prancing across the MTV screen for most of this decade. While Side 1 of “Big Thing” focuses on big-beat dance-rock that should keep the teen contingent happy, the second side moves into moodier territory with some ambitious sound textures.

“Land” is a surprise, an atmospheric song with aural landscaping that recalls elements of Joni Mitchell’s recent work. It even boasts a coherent lyric about a sad, romantic parting, although singer Simon Le Bon’s voice is too thin to make it truly poignant.

Elsewhere, “Big Thing” reflects such smart techno-rock influences as Kraftwerk and Brian Eno’s early albums. Despite these new aspirations, Duran Duran can still sound awfully silly. When he isn’t being vague, Le Bon’s lyrics tend to be pretentious and overheated. (“Did you have to change all your poet’s fire into frozen dust?”) In “All She Wants Is,” Duran Duran foolishly fills the empty spaces with erotic female grunts and cries, just like on its first hit, “Hungry Like the Wolf.” Some things don’t change.