Guitar Romantic

Guitar Romantic is the only full-length album by Portland band The Exploding Hearts, released in 2003. It channels garage rock and punk energy into concise, melody-driven songs that draw on power pop and 1970s new wave, characterized by jangly, chiming guitars, tight three-minute arrangements and upbeat vocal harmonies. The record's lean production and relentless hooks give it a raw but pop-forward sound, and its reputation within indie and garage revival circles was shaped in part by the band's fatal van crash shortly after the album's release.