If the Martians want guitars that badly, they can get all they need in Australia. High-energy axe maniacs with colorful handles like the Celibate Rifles, the Lime Spiders and the Screaming Tribesmen are breeding like bunnies down under, making a joyful noise forged from Sixties garage grunge, daredevil MC5 metal and Seventies pogo pop. Sydney's Hoodoo Gurus have already succeeded in taking that...

Australia's Hoodoo Gurus are one of the few Sixties-obsessed bands worth a damn. At the band's best, as on 1986's giddy Mars Needs Guitars!, songs like "Bittersweet" and "Like Wow – Wipe-out" scorch with refreshing irreverence. Too many backward-looking bands tread lightly on their heroes; the Hoodoo Gurus rock out. Blow Your Cool is more of the same, with all the growth you'd hope for from a...