HOODOO GURUS

Purity of Essence

hoodoogurus.net

While their résumé encompasses three decades and nine albums, the Hoodoo Gurus evince an energy that should make bands half their age envious. Co-producing with Charles Fisher (and employing veteran producer Ed Stasium for the mix), the group turns Purity of Essence into a blistering tour de force, as formidable a rock ’n’ roll record as anything in recent memory. “Crackin’ Up,” “Burnt Orange,” “I Hope You’re Happy” and “Let Me In” boast hooks and refrains that fairly leap out of the speakers. Like fellow Aussies the Saints and Midnight Oil, they revel in bold defiance—as evidenced by the intensity in the Stones-like sizzle of “1968” and “Ashamed on Me.”