1987's
Blow Your Cool!
found
the Hoodoo Gurus
adding a considerable amount of polish to their production and toning down their trademark humor in a bid for a wider audience. But in the United States, it didn't pay off;
opened few new doors for
the Gurus
, and they were dropped by
Elektra Records
. Thankfully, 1989's
Magnum Cum Louder
found them newly contracted to
RCA Records
and sounding like their loyal fans loved them to sound -- loud, hooky, and rockin' out with a smile on their collective face. The album's opener,
"Come Anytime,"
was
' most irresistible pop song since
"Bittersweet,"
and
"Another World,"
"All the Way,"
"Baby Can Dance (Pts. II-IV)"
proved they hadn't used up all their good hooks in one place. Meanwhile, those wanting something stronger got their fix with a handful of top-shelf rockers, most notably
"Axegrinder,"
"Glamourpuss,"
"I Don't Know Anything,"
"Death in the Afternoon."
The high wackiness of
Hoodoo Gurus
classics like
"Hayride to Hell"
"Dig It Up"
is still missing from
, but the overall tone is much more relaxed than
;
Dave Faulkner
seems to be having a fun with the songs here, especially the mock-pompous
the smirking
and the baseball saga/music biz metaphor
"Where's That Hit."
The Hoodoo Gurus
also went back to producing themselves, and the audio is full but uncluttered, with a roomy, natural sounding mix that flatters
Brad Shepherd
's guitars and
Mark Kingsmill
's drums more than the slicker, sterile sound of
proved that
knew better than anyone how to make a great
album, and it marked a welcome return to form for the band. ~ Mark Deming