Hoodoo Gurus

In the midst of the hairspray '80s, when modern rock was awash with airbrushed, synthesizer-twiddling Bowie wannabes, the Hoodoo Gurus charged out of Australia to offer '60s-inspired garage-rock salvation. The band's biggest hit, "I Want You Back," scored the after-party of every mid-'80s prom, with just the right mix of desperation and desire. That lump-in-the-throat feeling is just around the corner when the Gurus get melancholy on "Bittersweet," but then you can ride the wave of surf-rock riffs and manic drum-bashing on the raucous rave-up "Like Wow-Wipeout!" We'll hear the Aussies turn their amps up to 11 in Next Steps.

The Hoodoo Gurus' debut album wasn't called Stoneage Romeos for nothing; at heart they were diehard wild men who lived to play that caveman rock. The punk-y edge and quick-stepping rabbit punch on "Tojo" gets a left-field twist with lyrics that throw WWII and Australian history into the mix. The bluesy, boot-stomping "Poison Pen" lets a wailing harmonica cry out the pain of untrue love. And the Gurus kick up a storm like true rock 'n' roll animals unleashed when they let it all hang out on the raw-and-rockin' "In the Wild." When we dive into Deep Cuts, we'll hear the sound of the Hoodoo Gurus getting down and dirty.

One look at those paisley shirts and long, flowing manes and you know the Hoodoo Gurus can lay down some lava-lamp-lovin', psychedelic action. The guys really let their freak flag fly on "(Let's All) Turn On," where they name-check their swingin'-'60s heroes, from the Seeds to Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs. The thick-and-dirty, fuzzed-out riffs of "Dig It Up" drip with garage-rock residue like some crossbred cousin of the Electric Prunes and Iggy Pop. And the Gurus spill sunshine all over your ears with the '60s-pop explosion of "Less Than a Feeling," slipping in a classic-rock pun to boot.

At a time when '60s-inspired sounds were mainly found in the West Coast's Paisley Underground, the Hoodoo Gurus popped up from Down Under to prove there was more to Aussie rock than Men At Work. While everyone else was spiking up their hair, singer Dave Faulkner and company got long and shaggy, and turned up the volume on hip-shaking garage rock and fuzz-flavored psychedelic kitsch colors. Pouring the whole mix through a punk-fortified power-pop funnel, the Sydney sensations connected with the college-rock crowd and sent an electric charge through the squeaky-clean, synth-pop-soaked radio waves of the mid-'80s. From their supercharged, rock-all-night caveman stompers to the jingle-jangle morning of their bittersweet ballads, this is the place to get all the Hoodoo Gurus you can use.