Upon hearing the Exploding Hearts’ music, one might be forgiven for assuming that the band formed in 1977 London rather than 2001 Eugene, Oregon. Mining the early punk-meets-power-pop of the Undertones, the Clash, early Jam, and the Stiff Records sound, the young quartet was as loud, brash, tuneful, and energetic as its idols. After releasing the debut album GUITAR ROMANTIC, the combo began touring heavily and quickly garnered a rabid West Coast fan base. Seemingly on the verge of breaking out nationally, tragedy struck in July, 2003 when the Exploding Hearts’ van crashed en route from a gig, killing three members and ending the young group’s promising career. The singles and out-takes compilation SHATTERED was released in 2006.