Hoodoo Gurus – Mars Needs Guitars! (Green Vinyl)

Hoodoo Gurus' Mars Needs Guitars! was the Sydney band's second album, released in 1985, and it quickly pushed them from cult favourites toward a much bigger audience. It reached No. 5 in Australia, cracked the US chart at No. 140, later earned triple-platinum certification, and was named in the 2010 book 100 Greatest Australian Albums. That reach makes sense: these songs turn the band's affection for garage rock, surf-pop, and trash-culture humour into something sharper and more direct than on their debut.

Dave Faulkner's songwriting is the key to why this record still lands so well. The hit run of Bittersweet, Like Wow-Wipeout, and Death Defying captures the album's sweet spot: hook-heavy guitar pop with a sly, off-centre personality. At the same time, cuts like the title track and Hayride to Hell lean into the band's B-movie wit and love of kitsch without losing momentum. It's a concise record, but it covers a lot of ground inside that frame.

This edition reflects why the album has stayed in print and in conversation. The 2018 remaster brought Mars Needs Guitars! back to vinyl on heavyweight green wax, underlining its status as one of the defining Australian rock records of the mid-1980s rather than just a nostalgia item.

Features

• 180g, Green Vinyl
• Remastered