Hoodoo Gurus, ‘Chariot of the Gods’ (album review)

Album review

Hoodoo Gurus
Chariot of the Gods
(Big Time Phonographic Recording Co./Universal Music Australia)

Whenever a veteran band offers up new music after a long absence, there are often questions about whether it will still measure up to a successful or celebrated period from the past. 

Last week, Hoodoo Gurus released Chariot of the Gods - the first full-length studio effort in a dozen years – and any doubts are quelled from the get-go.

My own experience with the group dates back to the Eighties when I nearly wore out cassette copies of the Aussie rockers’ Stoneage Romeos, Mars Needs Guitars! and Blow Your Cool! (Featuring college/alternative radio classics “I Want You Back,” “Bittersweet,” “Like Wow – Wipeout!” and “What’s My Scene”). I wrote a rave review on 1989’s Magnum Cum Louder for my college newspaper. Eventually, I interviewed guitarist/singer Brad Shepherd and singer/guitarist Dave Faulkner (find the latter piece elsewhere on this blog).

Co-produced by Faulkner and Wayne Connolly (The Vines, You Am I) and mixed by Ed Stasium (Smithereens, Ramones, Living Colour), 10th album Chariot of the Gods starts strongly with “World of Pain,’ a brawny sax-tinged stomper about a bar fight.

Early standout “Get Out of Dodge” is a timely power pop nugget with timely lyrics revolving around polarization. Here, Faulkner sings, “This town is narrow-minded/The people here are blinded by hate/They won’t meet you in the middle/And we found out a little too late.” The Bangles’ Vicki Peterson and husband John Cowsill (The Cowsills, Mike Love’s Beach Boys) provide sweet harmonies. Fun fact: Hoodoo Gurus and The Bangles toured together in the 1980s and the ladies guested on Blow Your Cool!

Although Shepherd and bassist Rick Grossman’s backing vocals are a regular part of the Hoodoo Gurus sound, they are emphasized to fine effect throughout the 13 Chariot of the Gods tracks (16 on the vinyl edition).

The intense “Answered Prayers” is driven by a needling guitar riff and prominent bassline as Faulkner details an emotionally abusive relationship and namechecks Travis Bickle, the character Robert De Niro portrayed in the film “Taxi Driver.”

Equally dark is the hard charging “Don’t Try to Save My Soul” with blistering slide guitar work and soulful backing vocals by Mahalia Barnes (Joe Bonamassa) and Juanita Tippins. Key lyric: “I stumbled ‘round for nigh on 40 years/To work out who I am/Now I ain’t gonna change for anyone/’Cause I don’t give a damn.”

The spacey and tribal, mid-1960s-influenced title track, complete with slide didgeridoo, is quite intriguing: Faulkner’s sci-fi tale of an alien invasion on Earth relates to the colonization of Australia.

Among the two Shepherd-penned songs that he also sings, the poppy “Equinox” and its careening electric guitars is the most memorable. Elsewhere, the psychedelic-tinged rock ballad “Was I Supposed to Care?” gives a sonic nod to early Aerosmith; a rip-roaring “Hang with the Girls” (containing more jaunty sax bits) and the life-affirming “Carry On” (high-flying harmonies abound) are the other standouts.

Drummer Nik Rieth (formerly of Radio Birdman), a Gurus member since 2015, definitely makes his presence felt, especially during the harder rockers. All told, Chariot of the Gods is a welcome return for Hoodoo Gurus and a viable contender for my 2022 best albums list.

www.hoodoogurus.net