Inspired by grunge, rock gods, and powerful post-punk, Long Beach band Spare Parts for Broken Hearts have thrived on a dark, melodic sound since forming in a Downtown LA rehearsal space in 2010. Fusing heavy rock with a side of power-pop, the trio's fan base continues growing steadily as they play everywhere from dive bars to the House of Blues. The name also seems to have a significance to front woman Sarah Green, who says the formation of her band has been the key to helping her piece together who she is both on and off stage.
“People always ask me why I write dark music,” the vocalist/guitarist says. “Music is the way I feel relief from darkness, it makes me feel understood when I hear it, like somebody can hear me. I've spent so much time alone listening to music and I want to be that artist for someone else.”
]
In 2008, Green met bassist Laurita Guaico while on the Vans Warped Tour, playing in separate bands. After conversations on the road, they realized they should get together and make music they could call their own. In 2010, the pair met up in an hourly rehearsal studio and fleshed out some grungy heartfelt jams with the intention to “take songs to their highest possible level” Green says. From 2011 to 2013 the band played all over So Cal and recorded their self-titled EP. In 2014, they rounded out their current line up by adding drummer Mikey Vallejo. After only a few rehearsals with him, Spare Parts for Broken Hearts won the Orange County Music League's Battle of the Bands. The trio are on the horizon of a busy summer, promoting their new EP, I Love You II.
Their live shows are a mix of well-calibrated build-ups and controlled chaos. Guaico's stage presence is electric; her bass and guitar chops flawless. Tone is intrinsic to her musicianship, Guaico's mix of distortion, effects pedals, and warm tube amps add sonic layers and dimension to her live and recorded sound. Vallejo sits cool and collected, holding it all down with tasteful syncopation. Green delivers raw emotion and steadfast shredding, coming and going between melodies and riffs, and intentional feedback, “mostly ambiguous and always androgynous,” she says. Even when Green and Guaico switch instruments, the flow is never compromised and the energy is ever-present.
Spare Parts for Broken Hearts' songwriting style is dynamic and powerful. Writing has come easy, says Guaico. “Anytime two, or all of us get together it seems that we just understand each other without saying much. We compliment and support each other's writing really well.” Their music is meaningful, and a mechanism that captures moments. Green writes lyrics that serve as a way to process emotion for her and the listener. Their blend of harmonies, heavy rhythms, catchy hooks, empathy, and occasional bars of odd time have solidified them as a local favorite by fans and fellow musicians in Orange County and Long Beach.
I Love You II weaves '90s influenced grunge, rock, and dream-pop with a fresh take on heavy emotional anthems, complete with gang choruses and raw riffs a-la L7 having a discussion with System of a Down at an Elliot Smith concert. Spare Parts for Broken Hearts emotional and driving rock anthems connect with their audiences in the best possible way, bridging dark melodies with authenticity and passion.
To check out Spare Parts for Broken Hearts' new EP I Love You II, click here. Click here for the band's Facebook page.
See also:
The 50 Best Things About the OC Music Scene
The 50 Worst Things About the OC Music Scene
The 25 Greatest OC Bands of All Time: The Complete List
Follow us on Twitter at @OCWeeklyMusic and like us on Facebook at Heard Mentality.
