“In a forest, with insects eating my body, I would not be afraid of that.“
Some bands, especially metal bands, may resist a label like “ecstatic”, but today we’ll examine a different case. A certain level of whimsy can act as an effective juxtaposition of intensity in music, and this situation proves to be one solid example. In 2022, Agriculture debuted its blackgaze (or at least blackgaze-adjascent) sound with The Circle Chant. Then, last year, they dropped the self-titled debut album to decent fanfare and for good reason. Now, fresh off a tour with Chat Pile, the “ecstatic black metal” outfit puts forth another new EP in Living Is Easy, a dubious title but perhaps they know better than us.
“Gentle traveler,
Green as rose.
Day to follow,
When you know.”
The EP begins with the title track and, spoiler, standout track. This seven-minute journey is equal parts euphoric, violent, and dissonant, which may sound familiar to those familiar with the debut LP. Allegedly based on a tale of Buddha (which makes more sense given the context of the following track), it makes up nearly half of Living Is Easy‘s length and sounds the most realized on it as well.
Linked thematically but not sonically, “Being Eaten by a Tiger” represents a significant shift to sparse instrumentation and clean, half-spoken word vocals. It acts both as exposition and as a breather between the opener and the next salvo.
“What on earth will,
Make the bad thing go away.
What do you need?
What do you see?“
Second “proper track” and single “In the House of Angel Flesh” falls much more in line with the first. Beset from the start by dizzying riffs and, yet again, ecstatic vocals. In general, Agriculture really excels in this space, taking a black metal (ish) sound and applying additional layers and twists to separate it from your standard fare. The layered spoken vocals towards the end serve as a strong transition into the final track, “When You Were Born”, which serves essentially as a poem-reading to close the album.
The vinyl release of the Living Is Easy comes paired with The Circle Chant, making for a neat bonus. With that said, no bonus is needed for a recommendation here. This EP, though brief, makes many stops along the way in Agriculture‘s sound profile while not really making missteps. Even the interludes/spoken word section fit well. All told, another quality addition in their short but intriguing discography.
9/10
Agriculture – Living Is Easy comes out Friday, May 3rd on The Flenser with pre-orders here.