Baltimore's experimental bands

WZT Hearts

Members: Jeff Donaldson, Shaun Flynn, Michael Haleta, Jason Urick

WZT Hearts (sounds like "Wet Hearts") creates electronic music that is supremely difficult to define in a paragraph. While electronically crafted, WZT Hearts doesn't share in the manic, electro pop that its contemporaries frequently produce. As regulars at Floristree Space, the guys have hosted some excellent shows and crafted some intense sets that sound like the progeny of old-school European art rockers like Tangerine Dream and Can. The instrumentalists take on laptops, mixers, tapes and Commodore 64s in addition to the usual palette of drums and guitars. Sonic drones provide a backdrop for monumental noises injected with purpose and occasional melody. Certainly the least widely known (and therefore coolest) of the already fringe artists on the list, WZT Hearts is something of a band's band. The music is well-crafted and demands attention, as minimalist feedback jams are generally not for the incidental listener, unless your parents made you listen to Krautrock in the cradle. 

Level of experimentation: 7, for boldly venturing into the land of drones

Web site: www.myspace.com/wztheartssss