B-Side Guys

Berlin’s Samt Martin have constructed something that feels like stumbling upon a clearing in an enchanted forest, where existential questions hang in the air like morning mist. “Herz aus Holz” operates as both meditation and revelation, transforming the universal anxiety of identity into something that sounds like it emerged naturally from the earth itself, moss-covered and ancient yet somehow urgently contemporary.

The band’s departure from their previous sound feels deliberate and necessary, like shedding old skin to reveal something more essential underneath. Their approach to production—everything double-tracked to create “beautiful haunting noise”—mirrors the song’s central metaphor of wooden hearts lying vulnerable in woodland spaces. Each guitar layer breathes with organic irregularity, while the rhythm section maintains what the band describes as an “elevated resting pulse,” creating space where introspection can unfold without urgency.

Lyrically, Samt Martin captures the particular disorientation of modern self-questioning with remarkable precision. “Wer magst du sein?” (“Who would you like to be?”) becomes a recurring anchor that grows more complex with each repetition, suggesting that identity might be less about discovery than conscious choice. The wooden heart imagery—”Dein Herz aus Holz / Liegt im Wald” (“Your heart of wood / Lies in the forest”)—transforms vulnerability into something solid yet fragile, natural yet crafted.

The explosive solo they mention arrives like sunlight breaking through canopy, preceded by ghostly feedback that announces its presence from a distance. This moment of catharsis feels earned rather than imposed, emerging organically from the song’s dreamlike foundation. The contrast between the track’s meditative verses and this burst of sonic energy reflects the tension between contemplation and action that defines much of human experience.

“Herz aus Holz” succeeds because it treats existential uncertainty not as a problem to be solved but as a landscape to be inhabited. Samt Martin have created a sonic environment where questions can exist without demanding immediate answers, where the forest floor becomes a safe place to examine the wooden hearts we’ve all been carrying.