Changelings. Microwolf

My introduction to Benjamin van Vliet came through duo Microplaza, with Arno Breuer. Three mini albums were released in the past years. Today Van Vliet's solo vehicle Microwolf gets the spotlight. Where Microplaza excels in sketches that could have become a song in full but didn't, Microwolf presents songs, between three and nine minutes in length.

Van Vliet is not out to please in the first seconds. His songs are experimental, jazzy, take an unexpected left turn or throw a curve ball when you least expect it. In other words: there is a multitude of details to discover, explore and analyse. The music is somewhere between the soft side of Sparklehorse and Neil Young. The longest song is 'Papavers'. It starts with an acoustic guitar and Benjamin van Vliet singing. The effect on his voice typical Mark Linkous, the style of singing Neil Young like on 'On The Beach'. Hisses, a strange sounding keyboard and a weird rhythm. 'Papavers' is endlessly intriguing. The centrepiece of Changelings and rightly so.

What to make however of the intro line on Bandcamp? 'Changelings', the fourth and final collection of original songs by Benjamin van Vliet a.k.a. Microwolf". Final, that sounds kind of final. Whatever the future will bring, the way the album was created is interesting. Van Vliet wrote and recorded his songs and then asked other musicians to record what they thought appropriate, without knowing that someone else was asked to do the same. From all the contributions received, Van Vliet edited and created what we hear on Changelings. Contributions by Joachim Badenhorst, Romke Burger, Jarno van Es and Hansko Visser can be found, while Arno Breuer is present on most songs. They may have been surprised when they heard the end result.

This original way of working has paid off, as Changelings is as adventurous as the approach promises. Perhaps not everything is as good as 'Papavers', each track does have moments that surprise and endear. Take 'Burning Crops', another 9 minute plus song. It starts with some weird singing, after which a late, late night jazz track starts, with the slow, slow music associated with the hour. Then Romke Burger walks in with his saxophone, after a good night's rest and early rise before going to work. Far too alive for the rest of the band, that is about ready to call it a day. The contrast is striking. Slowly the rest awakes anyway, starting with Jarno van Es' Rhodes piano. And then things wind, endlessly, down.

Each track has these surprising elements or disruptive moments. It makes Changelings so interesting to listen to. Whether this truly is Benjamin van Vliet's final record, time will tell. Fact is that my introduction to his solo work has gone down pretty well.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Changelings here:

https://microwolf.bandcamp.com/album/changelings