The Hoodoo Gurus will release their latest single – “Answered Prayers” – as a limited edition 7″ for Record Store Day (April 18). At the same time they will digitally release an expanded Deluxe Edition of their 2004 album Mach Schau, which will combine the track listings from both the local and US editions in a new 16 track running order.
The RSD single, which is already available digitally, is the first new music from the band in 10 years, not counting 2014’s Gravy Train, a newly-recorded EP of lost tracks from the band’s early days. “Answered Prayers” is a stark and visceral track addressing a certain type of abuse propagated by a particular type of male. It’s also a stark and visceral reminder of the Gurus’ raw power and their roots in the original punk rock of the ’70s. Indeed the track follows the release in the US of both old and new material by The Victims, the band that head Guru Dave Faulkner formed with drummer James Baker in Perth in 1977, some four or so years before the pair reunited in Sydney to form the Gurus. More news on The Victims coming soon.
“Song of the Year”, which will feature on the RSD single’s B-side, further emphasises the band’s punk roots. Written and sung by guitarist Brad Shepherd, the flat-out screamer of a song obliquely references in its chorus two of Brisbane’s legendary punk-era bands, The Fucken Leftovers and The Survivors. Brad, of course, fronted his own group as a teenager in Brisbane at the time, who begun as The Aliens, before evolving into the legendary Fun Things.
“Song of the Year” will also appear on the digital Deluxe Edition of Mach Schau. Left off the original Australian release in 2004, it was one of a handful of tracks added to the US edition of the album at the expense of a couple from the local edition. None of this handful has ever been available digitally. The new digital release will include all tracks from both editions in a new, improved running order. The album was the first the Gurus recorded after their five-year hiatus starting in 1998 and is one of their very best. Co-produced by another veteran of Perth’s feisty late-‘70s punk scene Kim Salmon, it features cracking tunes like “Sour Grapes”, “Girls On Top”, “Domino”, “When You Get to California” (with guest Vicki Peterson of The Bangles) and the great single “Nothing’s Changing My Life”, which surprisingly featured the decidedly non-punk – but classic ’70s – pair of Venetta Fields and Renee Geyer on backing vocals.
The Gurus will follow these releases with a three week US tour in October and November, presented by Little Steven’s Underground Garage. For dates and more, go to the Gurus’ website.
Mach Schau Deluxe Edition track listing:
1. “Sour Grapes”
2. “Domino”
3. “Nothing’s Changing My Life”
4. “The Good Son”
5. “When You Get to California”
6. “This One’s for the Ladies”
7. “Girls on Top”
8. “Dead Sea”
9. “Monkey’s Wedding”
10. “#17”
11. “Isolation”
12. “White Night”
13. “Song of the Year”
14. “The Mighty Have Fallen”
15. “Chop”
16. “Penelope’s Lullaby”
