Although you may not know them as “Terry & Louie”, Oakland’s Terry Six and New Orleans’ King Louie Bankston have been working together for a long time. The two collaborated on The Exploding Hearts‘ debut album in the early 2000s, and recently reunited in Oakland to record five tracks as a duo. (For more background on Exploding Hearts and the origins of Terry & Louie’s collaboration, read this great retrospective from Portland’s Willamette Weekly on the legacy of Exploding Hearts).

The first two tracks from Terry & Louie’s sessions in Oakland, “Looking for a Heart” and “She Loves Him”, will be the first release for the brand new Tuff Break Records. Both tracks are clean, no-frills power pop, with perfect guitar riffs and harmonies in all the right places. I’ve been listening to them over and over and love them more every time. Terry & Louie’s tracks are below and you can preorder the 7-inch on Bandcamp. Although you can’t catch them locally in the near future, Terry & Louie will perform in Memphis at Goner Fest September 27.

Tuff Break Records was created by Terry Six last year. He tells me the label is “a way to facilitate control of The Exploding Hearts’ legacy and put them under my and the other families’ roof.” Plans are in the works to release a second Terry & Louie 7-inch, an Exploding Hearts singles box set, and more in 2015.