Sad demise marks Hearts' pop

So, it's hard to write a review of a band that just passed away. Heading out to tour following their first LP release, the Exploding Hearts lost three members (Matt Fitzgerald, bass and vocals, Adam Cox, guitar and lead vocals, and Jeremy Gage, drums) to an automobile accident on the way home from a show in San Francisco. Surviving are Terry Six, guitar, and Rachelle Ramos, manager. Maybe the power pop and careless infection of the band's brand of, well, songs about exploding hearts, carried on into life -- the only passenger wearing a seatbelt was Ramos. With lyrics like, "I don't pretend to write the game of love," the Hearts wore their hearts outright. The tunes aren't that intelligible, but they're fun enough. Disregarding any now defunct potential, Guitar Romantic is as catchy as Make Up the Breakdown and slowly trailing that New York new wave thing, though from Portland and denying like comparisons in interviews. The feel is happier and not as post-modern-punk, sans the lyrics about a huffing girlfriend, and the pink and yellow designs the members sported are fetching. Depressing enough is their demise, but the band's first foray into the medium-level distribution world is midlevel. Who knows what they might have done in the future. Wear your seat belt.