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A decade ago this week, Portland's Exploding Hearts released Guitar Romantic, a near-perfect power-pop album now considered among the classics of the genre. Although the group's career ended tragically less than four months later, the great, brief burst of music it left behind remains a vital influence on an entire generation of bands. To commemorate the album's 10-year anniversary, Willamette Week partnered with Generator and Pabst Blue Ribbon and asked six Portland artists to cover the record in full. Over the next week, we will be premiering exclusive videos of those bands performing all 10 songs from Guitar Romantic at Southeast Portland's Green Noise Records, home to Dirtnap Records, the label that released the album in America.
Youthbitch, "Boulevard Trash"
"Exploding Hearts were a big part of our band when we started—they were a big reason why Nico and Rob moved to Portland in the first place. We got here way after it was possible for us to see them live, but we've met a lot of people who played with them and grew up with them. Jonny Cat, who put our LP out, said seeing them live was like 'a bat with razor blades for wings flapping in your face.'"—Stevie Pohlman, Youthbitch
Youthbitch - Boulevard Trash from Generator on Vimeo.
WWeek 2015