So Hozier put out a new album in August called Unreal Unearth. I’m not particularly a big fan of Hozier; I fiercely resisted his music because I wanted to believe that I’m not a basic white girl. But this album has got a hold on me.
I heard of the album around the time that it came out, but was very quickly put off by the horrific cover art. If you haven’t seen it, prepare yourself before viewing. It might be the worst album cover I’ve ever seen.
But once you get past that, the actual album is pretty good. It wasn’t quite what I expected from Hozier but maybe that’s because the only songs of his that I knew before this were ‘Take me to church’ and ‘Cherry Wine’.
The album starts off with a ‘De Selby (Part 1)’ which has a melancholy feel to it. He sings very softly and keeps the track very lowkey, before building it up and singing in Irish. I won’t pretend to know what any of it means but it sounded cool I guess. As this song fades out, it trails straight into ‘De Selby (Part 2)’. This one is a lot more upbeat. The sort of song that makes you feel really cool when you’ve got your headphones on walking somewhere. Really groovy. Probably a good song to run to but I wouldn’t really know. This one is defo one of my favourites on the album; a really great motivator. If you listen to any song from this album, definitely give this one a go.
These songs are then followed by ‘First Time’ and ‘Francesca’. Another 2 great songs. The first is (I think) a break-up song. But like a feel-good one. Like this break-up is actually a positive thing for him, despite how it made him feel initially. So while it’s kinda a deep song, it gives you hope I guess. ‘Francesca’ is a damn good song. I love the intensity that the track creates. Sort of song that you could just scream in the car. It’s another deeper song that’s disguised by how fun the tune is. Love it.
The next few songs are good but not my favourites on the album. However, ‘Damage Gets Done’ with Brandi Carlile is absolutely beautiful. The harmonies are unreal (also, possibly coincidentally, unearthly). It’s actually just a really satisfying song. Their voices match each other perfectly which creates the most satisfying sound. 10/10 on this one.
‘Son of Nyx’ seems to be like the break in the album. Right in the middle, there’s no lyrics to it, just straight vibes. (Sometimes I wonder if anyone reading this is able to like catch my kinda weird humour because “straight vibes” is absolutely not something I would say but it just felt right there).
‘All Things End’ is another favourite of mine. Just a good song. The next few are good, but kinda unremarkable to me. ‘Butchered Tongue’ might have been a favourite of mine if the name didn’t feel gross.
Now we come to my favourite song on the whole album (at least I think it is, I’m really bad at decisions). ‘Anything But’ is what got me listening to the album in the first place. Hozier sounds great on this song, but he is slightly upstaged by the belting of whoever that woman is on the track. I can’t find any information about her but she sounds unreal. Really made this song for me.
At this point, I’m realising that I haven’t actually listened to the last three songs on the album. Whoopsies. So here’s my live commentary of listening to them for the first time:
- ‘Abstract (Psychopomp)’ – ooo i quite like this one. The chorus is good. Instruments sound really cool. Good song.
- ‘Unknown/Nth’ – nice guitar intro. He’s so good at building up intensity. Is the sha la la bit like a reference to the Beatles? Didn’t love that bit but maybe I’m just uncultured.
- ‘First Light’ – oh this is a good one. Green heart on this one. What a good end to the album.
Overall, I did really enjoy the album. I would really recommend giving it a listen. Just beware of Hozier’s earthy teeth.