Skip to main content

8. The Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic (2003)

There are three things about CD reviews that I dislike. The first is an overabundant use of the second person. Second is when the reviewer goes overboard comparing an artist’s sound to another artist. The third is when an attempt is made to connect the record to some sort of unrelated larger social context.

I just needed to get that out there.

Okay, so let’s say you go into the record store and you come across this record, The Exploding Hearts, Guitar Romantic. You know nothing about the band, and there’s no date on the packaging. The cover features a skewed photo of the group standing in front of a spray painted title. It has a yellow border and the name of the band around it. From the way the band looks, and the aesthetic of the packaging, it’s concievable that you might believe you’d found a reissue of an obscure late ‘70s new wave punk album.

And though it was actually recorded in 2002 and released this year, were you to buy and listen to the album, nothing would spoil that notion. It’s all uptempo guitars, bratty vocals, popping drums and short songs straight out of the british punk movement. The obvious reference point is The Jam, especially in the vocals, but also in the pop sensibility that pervades. Or, if you’re feeling more modern, they’re a lot like Green Day, but perhaps with a little more heart and a little less angst. They also by turns recall The Ramones with an added dash of the J.Geils Band and Elvis Costello and the Attractions circa This Year’s Model.

No matter the influences, these are songs that are tough enough to make you feel rebellious and accessible enough to sing in the shower. The band has managed to effectively tap into the zeitgeist, i.e. the neverending trend of being nostalgic for recent times past, without coming off as a sad retro tribute. If you have any sort of fondness for the late '70s and early '80s, then buy this and let it be the soundtrack to the movie they should have made about your crazy high school days.

Rating: B+
Fave Song: Black And Blue

A Sad Note: I didn’t want to make this a focus of the review, but in July of this year, three of the four members of this band died in a van rollover. R.I.P.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Honoring the Legacy of REO Speedwagon

I suppose I should have known the saga of REO Speedwagon couldn't end with a whimper. Before I get into the latest developments, here's a brief review of what's happened so far: In September 2024 came the announcement that the band was effectively breaking up at the end of the year. Apparently, frontman Kevin Cronin ruled that bassist Bruce Hall was no longer fit to continue touring following back surgery in summer 2024. Hall felt otherwise. Here we learned that REO had essentially become a three-way partnership between Cronin, Hall, and Doughty (who retired from touring in January 2023) following the departure of original members Alan Gratzer and Gary Richrath in 1988. Doughty sided with Hall, so Cronin was outvoted 2-1. No Bruce Hall, no REO Speedwagon. In December 2024 Cronin revealed he would continue performing REO Speedwagon songs with the two musicians who replaced Doughty and Hall, as well as Brian Hitt and Dave Amato (who replaced Gratzer and Richrath), with the on...

Stuck, or Obsession Cessastion

You may have noticed that things have slowed down around here. I had the summer off from teaching, and I spent it with my 7 month-old son. I gave myself permission to make this blog less of a priority. Well, "less of a priority" is putting it lightly. Initially, I considered an abrupt retirement. But then I reconsidered. Maybe the proximity to Brett Favre is causing this. If you're a long time reader, this is probably not all that surprising to you. Since 2007, it has become an annual ritual for me to soul-search about my waning interest in music. First I blamed an inability to express myself and a lack of quality music . Then in 2008 I cited new technology and the death of the album . Last year I wrote about how my changing life priorities hindered my ability to seek out new music. I've done a lot of thinking about it this summer and in truth I believe this was all just dancing around the issue, a slow realization of something I didn't want to admit to myse...

Billy Joel: 1980 - 1977

When I decided to write about every single Billy Joel studio album I knew had a bit of a leg up in that I'd written reviews of a handful of his records already. What I didn't realize until just now was that those reviews were of albums that had been released consecutively between 1977 and 1980. As I reread those reviews - the most recent of which is 14 years old! - I found that I still stand by them. My writing style has mellowed a bit, and I no longer give grades to albums, but otherwise my opinions then are my opinions now. So here you go... Billy Joel: Glass Houses (1980) Billy Joel: 52nd Street (1978) Billy Joel: The Stranger   (1977)