Azfarat - Yggdrasil and the Plague of Frogs

The one thing that I will say about Canadian record label Bugs Crawling Out Of People is that it is one of the zaniest labels out there. Never really sticking to trends and having a fuck-all attitude in regards to what they put out (as they put out what they want to put out and that's that), and that really goes double for the artists that are either on their roster or have been featured on their roster in the past. 

Azfarat is definitely a testimonial to that, with three of their releases being featured on the label so far. This noisey, experimental and sometimes spoken word project is odd and fun, and can sometimes be brilliant. Nonetheless, it will be hard to convince anyone that there is a craft of love bound within this man's noise as his latest release is titled, "Yggrasil and the Plague of Frogs". 

Be that as it may, I do find myself fancying a lot of Azfarat's sounds. 'Teatime of the Thunder God' begins off the album. ambient sounds and repetitious piano work kicking us off. It has a sort of hypnotic sound at that, with rolling thunder included. The piano work does get more frantic later, as higher pitched synth squeals come into play and disastrous (but oh-so great) noise scratches and scatters about the song. 

'Golden Apple, Hollow Eye' has this really, really annoying high (really high) pitched noise like that of a steaming tea kettle. It only worsens throughout the song. And, Jesus Christ, I could not stand this at all. There was a moment around the five minute and twenty second mark where it all stopped, and lovely plucks of strings and forbidding noises come out to play. But, this only lasts until the seven minute and twenty seven second mark. Then that same irritating noise comes back. 

'Het' was able to draw me back into the album once more. Ambient sounds mixed with horns, and samples of frogs actually made for a very ominous, spooky swamp like setting in my brain. It was easy listening, though some might find it a little creepy. 

'Age of Reason' kept up a very calm attitude for much of the first minute with very faint ambient works coming through with piano notes over it. Once again, however, I found the noise to be a bit too much this time around. Bursts of static came and went with glitched out samplings, and it just didn't suit me all too well. 

I suppose 'Age of Distraction' was meant to be a companion piece to the previous song. As with 'Age of Reason', I was able to heavily dig into the introductory part of this song, but the piercing noise just made me feel as if my ears broke. And that's not the type of noise that I can love. 

Lastly, 'Leave Their Bodies for the Wolves' came in. Very noisey and experimental, almost jazz like with the constant drum bashing, and the occasional shout, I had no idea what was going on. It's like the exact opposite of a song; deconstructive rather than constructive. I suppose there's art in that. I did tackle this one more than twice to really get a feel for it, but it's really all up for interpretation. 

And, so, Azfarat has released another dynamic and confusing album for all to possibly enjoy, or either hate. I have a love/hate relationship with this album, as certain parts are absolutely wonderful while others make me want to bash my speakers in with a metal pipe. Nonetheless, it has made an impression on me, and 'Teatime of the Thunder God' is still an awesome song. 
May 12 2015