The eighties was indeed a wonderful period for Australian rock music, with so many high quality acts that I could fill an entire blog post just by naming them. One of these was Hoodoo Gurus, formed in Sydney in 1981 as Le Hoodoo Gurus. Coming from different Sydney bands and coalescing around singer/guitarist/songwriter Dave Faulkner, the group went through a series of personnel changes between first single “Leilani” and the debut album “Stoneage Romeos”.
Sporting a cover with a dinosaur menacing a scantily clad woman, depicted in comic book style day glo colours, this is a veritable treasure trove of inventive, highly energetic and melodic rock music. Very few people will be able to sit still when opener “(Let´s all) turn on” gains traction and it´s simple but unforgettable baseline blasts through the speakers. I still remember being thoroughly blown away by this fast paced delicacy when the needle hit the groove of my imported vinyl LP some 30 years ago. Impossible not to love and so much what rock music is about.
The twangy power pop of “I want you back” carries the momentum forward through the driving verses and lifting chorus. Straightforward rocker “Arthur” chronicles the untimely death of a fictive Gurus bass player, moonlighting as a taxi driver. One of the album´s stand-out tracks is the formidable “Death ship” which just flows so effortlessly, perched somewhere between intricate pop sensibilities and driving rock. “Dig it up” takes off into Cramps-territory, both musically and lyrically, with a swampy tremolo guitar solo and that cool guitar howl at the end. Making an about-turn from the lurid stories of digging up your love, “My girl” is a pop gem that wouldn´t look out of place on a Big Star album. So catchy and sweet you´ll want to listen to it again and again.
“Zanzibar” is the record´s emotional ballad, with great singing by Faulkner. The tribal drumming of “Leilani” follows, a bigger production version of their debut single´s story of virgin sacrifice and erupting volcanoes. Big rhythmic fun. “Tojo” is a remake of their second single, a straight pop song with lyrics about hurricane Tracy and Japanese WWII General and Prime Minister Hideko Tojo. These guys clearly doesn´t lack a sense of humor.
Even though the quality of the songwriting sags a little in the two closing numbers, “In the echo chamber” and “I was a kamikaze pilot”, this such a great album. Playful and inventive, full of great songs and melodies, simply the sound of a band doing almost everything right. Although their career holds many a great disc, I don´t think they´ve ever bettered this one.
Ohman thinks... 