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.
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. (Year of Release: 2003)
Track List:
1. Modern Kicks
2. I'm A Pretender
3. Thorns In Roses
4. You're Black & Blue
5. Sleeping Aides & Razor Blades
6. Rumours in Town
7. Throwaway Style
8. Boulevard Trash
9. Jailbird
10. Still Crazy
Download: Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic (38.1MB)
2 comments:
thanx for this post, nice record. i've never heard of this band before.
Thanks so much for this. I downloaded it several months ago and finally played it a few days back. I've been playing it almost non-stop since. It may be my favorite record of the millenium so far. I only wish I would've gotten around to listening to it sooner.
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