Hozier’s newest EP may be titled “Unheard” but the Irish singer’s vocals are heard thundering across the four tracks.
I first listened to Hozier, whose real name is Andrew Hozier-Byrne, on the radio when his 2013 track “Take Me to Church” gained traction.
Hozier poured so much of his soul into that song; it is a creamy blend of tender and loving lyrics backed with gospel sounds.
The song was an international hit that certified five-times platinum in the U.S., according to Genius.
Hozier’s first self-titled album released in 2014 included “Take Me to Church” and
the album’s ninth track “Work Song” is a song I want to play at my wedding someday.
Hozier has such a gift for describing women he loves poetically. The lyrics are gushing of romance in the first verse of “Work Song”: “There’s nothin’ sweeter than my baby / I’d never want once from the cherry tree / ‘Cause my baby’s sweet as can be / She’d give me toothaches just from kissin’ me.”
Shakespeare could not write those lyrics on his best day. In Hozier’s March 22 EP “Unheard” almost a decade later, Hozier tells a story about how he and his lover lead their individual lives in a mix of genres from rock, funk, and soul on the first track titled “Too Sweet.”
The chorus: “I think I’ll take my whiskey neat / My coffee black and my bed at three / You’re too sweet for me” seems to be Hozier making a choice not to change his lifestyle for a relationship.
Although Hozier wishes he “could go along” with his lover’s routine of sleeping early and waking up to watch sunrises, he expands on how his lover is too sweet in the pre-chorus: “You know you’re bright as the morning / As soft as the rain / Pretty as a vine / As sweet as a grape.”
Leave it to Hozier to exclusively compliment someone even if they are not compatible for him and it’s lyrics like these that I can only dream of being talked about this way.
His second track “Wildflower and Barley” switches gears to a soft, peaceful ballad about living in the stillness of a quaint countryside surrounded by nature.
This song pairs perfectly with the acoustic guitar playing as Hozier is accompanied with Allison Russell’s vocals. Together, they whisk listeners away to the middle of nowhere with them.
Hozier’s third track “Empire Now” could easily be featured in an action movie while scenes of the movie’s protagonist training for something physically daunting play.
Hozier sings every lyric with precision and power. He is especially remarkable in this song because he usually builds up to his head voice in the last note, but he leads with it in “Empire Now”.
The fourth and final track in “Unheard” is “Fare Well” and it serves as a double entendre of saying goodbye to listeners since it’s the last track we will hear until his official album release and seeing how well someone can handle a situation.
Hozier aims for the latter, and constantly repeats the title throughout the song in his lyrics, “A kitty-cosy-in-the-engine-type of wouldn’t fare well / A dog-deep-in-the-chocolate-kind of wouldn’t fare well.”
I will admit Hozier completely lost me with the overwhelming comparisons in those lyrics but the chorus gleams with positivity showing that he can handle come what may, “I’ll take any high / Any glazin’ of the eyes / Any solitary pleasure that was sorrow in disguise / Let the sun only shine on me through a fallin’ sky / I’ll be alright.”
Hozier’s EP shows his musical range through dark storms and tranquil weathers. The only song I have added to my personal playlist is “Too Sweet” because it’s catchy and easy to sing along to, but I would say my experience listening to “Unheard” is similar to attending an art museum.
Sure, I’ll admire the paintings on the walls and maybe snap a picture but I wouldn’t buy anything.
