The Exploding Hearts



The Exploding Hearts are THE most depressing story in Punk Rock history, no exceptions. They formed in Seattle in 2001, and consisted of singer/guitarist Adam Cox, bassist Matt Fitzgerald, guitarist Terry Six, and drummer Jeremy Gage (The Other Wiki lists three other names under "former members" but explains nothing about them).

They started out playing in small clubs throughout the town and got noticed quickly. Indie stations drooled over their music, while at the same time knowing full well their potential to sell out. Their catchy pop hooks gave them the possibility of becoming huge. They independently recorded Guitar Romantic in 2003 and released to critical acclaim. The party wasn't going to last though.

In July, 2003 their van veered out of control and rolled off the road. Cox and Gage were killed instantly and Fitzgerald died later at the hospital. Six was left with scratches and bruises. You may now cry your eyes out.

After the accident, Six returned to Portland and formed a band called The Nice Boys. The band released one album, The Nice Boys, in 2006, but precious little since.

In 2006, the band's label issued Shattered which contained songs the band recorded during the sessions for the first album but intended for a second one, some singles and a couple rarities. Also included is a DVD containing five songs from their final show.

Their sound was very notable for bringing back the sound of Classic Punk Rock from the The Seventies and giving it a nice little kick of modern flair.

The Exploding Hearts contain examples of the following tropes:


 * Artist Existence Failure -- So much for that second album being completed.
 * Break Up Song -- "Modern Kicks", "Jailbird", "Sleeping Aids And Razor Blades", and a lot more.
 * Dead Artists Are Better -- While its a great album that got a ton of critical acclaim upon release, you have to wonder if Guitar Romantic would have gotten into all those Best Albums of the 2000's lists if the band had lived.
 * Downer Ending
 * Everybody's Dead, Dave: Terry Six. Just, Terry Six.
 * A Good Name for A Rock Band -- Admit it, their name is awesome!
 * Kill'Em All: Quite possibly the most catastrophic instance of Author Existence Failure in music.
 * Lyrical Shoehorn -- Why these guys loved to screw around with their lyrics will never be known.
 * Obsession Song -- "Jailbird" and HOW!
 * One-Book Author -- Guitar Romantic.
 * Power Pop
 * Punk Rock
 * Rhyming With Itself -- To go with painful rhyme, they do this a lot too.
 * Three Chords and The Truth -- Should be self- explanatory. However, it should be noted that there were epic riffs to go with it.
 * What Could Have Been -- Could have been rivals with Green Day and Blink182 easily.