Guitar Romantic

The utterly shocking accidental tragedy that took the lives of nearly all the members of the Exploding Hearts remains one of the worst in the field of modern music, the more so because with their sole album Guitar Romantic the Portland band had created a passionate classic of new wave-inspired rock and roll. Nodding less to brawling punk than the clever intensities of Nick Lowe and early Joe Jackson, Exploding Hearts songs like “I’m a Pretender” and “Sleeping Aides and Razorblades” make the loss cut deeper still.