Erich Russek and Poets in Heat
From the EP Childish Things (May 28, 2025)
In Once a Heart is Broken, Erich Russek and Poets in Heat deliver a quiet gut-punch — a sorrow-soaked meditation on damage that can’t be undone. Told in sparse, poetic stanzas, the song weaves the aftermath of heartbreak with the surreal fallout of fairytale failure, casting Humpty Dumpty not as a punchline, but as a tragic symbol of emotional ruin.
Russek’s signature spoken-word style feels especially intimate here — subdued, vulnerable, and resolute. He doesn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t need to. The weight of the lines carries itself.
There’s no rescue coming. No cavalry. Just someone frying in the sun after a fall no one bothered to stop — and the silent reckoning that follows.
As part of Childish Things — a collection of songs that reframes childhood stories through an adult, often brutal lens — Once a Heart is Broken stands as its most personal and quietly devastating track.