Guitar Romantic [Live]

The Exploding Hearts, Exploding Hearts | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 1, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Dirtnap Records
• ASIN: B000088E9O
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,560 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Hailing from Portland, OR, the Exploding Hearts are known far and wide for their white denim pop style and energetic live shows! With the songwriting charm and guitars of early brit pop/invasion bands like the Undertones & the Jam. Dirtnap. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Modern kicks, April 25, 2003

By 

Roy Pearl (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitar Romantic (Audio CD)

Zippy punk served up '77 style, from the shoutalong girl-group-derived melodies to the dayglo cover art to a mix that boasts all meters buried in the red. Lotsa fun, in other words, if just shy of greatness. Full marks for effort, though. This is what punk rock sounded like before it got codified into simple barre chords and zitty whining. If you've ever heard the Vibrator's classic "Pure Mania" then you're already well-acquainted with the game plan. And although it's all highly derivative, the Exploding Hearts at least show good sense and smart album collections in their choice of idols. It also helps that the band possesses an infectious exuberance and a seemingly limitless energy supply. With any luck, a million and one Good Charlotte-lovin' teenie punks will clutch onto this as their favorite album ever and all their subsequent bands will be formed in the image of the Exploding Hearts. And then the world will be a better place. Or something.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Broken mirrors and a bloody nose, June 3, 2004

By 

Jellybones (On Tour) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitar Romantic (Audio CD)

The loss of the Exploding Hearts in a tragic car wreck is one of the most depressing things to happen musically in the last few years. In this current scene, where 70's / 80's retro has become the hottest ticket around, the `Hearts stopped in to drop this `lil bombshell. If you scream for all the dreamy neo / retro punk / post-punk bands like Rapture, Hot Hot Heat, the Strokes et al. then please do yourself a big favor and pick up this release. It will kick in the door with its blazing raw punk beats (ala The Fall, The Clash, etc) punch those pretty boy bands in the nose , take their best girl and toss her on the back of their bike, and leave a big cloud of smoke and rubber in their driveway. There's the throwback love saga "Jailbird", there's the anathematic "Boulevard Trash", the blistering "I'm a Pretender", the very Clash-y "Rumours in Town". And if it were still the eighties, "Sleeping Aides and Razor Blades" would be the off kilter radio hit. Crap, lets face it every track on this album absolutely goes toe down, leaving you crying with a black eye and a big fat lip. Then there's "Modern Kicks", that's probably one of the best songs this decade, if not ever. A fired up guitar mugging of a song that has everything a classic song should have... shouting punk chorus, scorching guitar riffs and solos, and lead vocals delivered with a sneer. At a battle of the bands, it would be standing there laughing while those other MTV bands ran crying for their mommy.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic garage rock with a punk feel, June 8, 2006

By 

Destroy Boy (www.ohboydestroy.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitar Romantic (Audio CD)

The Exploding Hearts were a bunch of young kids playing a musical style twice their age but you wouldn't know that from their flawless recreation of the sounds of the classic rock n' roll/garage movement of the late 60's. Despite their youth, there's a timeless feel to their modern take on this genre as they belt through a series of rock n' roll originals that surely would have been chart toppers in that era. Helping this out is the absolutely retro straight out of the amp, fuzzy around the edges guitars and a strict adherence to blues based rock songwriting but with a superb flair for writing memorable songs that stick out from the considerable amount of bands playing this style past and present. They also incorporate some of the energy of the early British punk movement, keeping things moving at a brisk pace that keeps the interest level high from start to finish.

Beyond a couple almost ballads (they still rock!), most of the album is packed with upbeat numbers driven by raw, jangly guitars and almost non-stop lead guitar riffs. The lead work is especially good on this album, ranging from classic straight 50's greaser type solos to bold, anthemic solos that dominate tracks like "Modern Kicks" and "Rumors In Town". At times this comes across as a more poppy version of the New York Dolls but flush with the vibe and feel of a more straight rock version of The Undertones or The Vibrators. It has that same crazy punk energy but not the angry power chords, instead going with a more bubblegum rock style full of a ton of solos.

The vocals are fairly bubblegum as well with lots of back up vocals and tons of lyrics about girls but never come across as cheesy or forced. In fact they help to further cement their near perfect retro status as they sound straight off the teenybopper records of old, full of youthful energy for a brand new musical movement.

Sadly this first record is also the last as three fourths of the band died in a car accident coming back from a gig. Truly a tragedy as this was one of the best new bands I've heard in quite some time but at least they left this one gem of a record for us to remember them by.

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