HOZIER'S UNHEARD : AN EP REVIEW

I would say it's no secret that I love Hozier but it kind of is? Until fairly recently, I didn't add his songs to my stories or gab about his music on Twitter. I've never been to his shows and as someone who is culty about their musical artists, that even strikes myself as odd. However, now, I'm declaring my admiration via this blog. I'm not exactly screaming from the rooftops but we can call it that while I'm on my keyboard in a silent room.

Hozier's music makes me feel a certain way, I can't articulate it but it's like the freedom of Florence + The Machine, the sadness of Amy Winehouse, the lyrical beauty (but much deeper) of Noah Kahan, the cool factor of Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and the sexiness of well...Hozier invented that factor to me.

I'll never skip Cherry Wine, Like Real People Do, From Eden, and Tell It To My Heart (KREAM Remix). He not only hits the softness of a Sunday morning but also captures the beauty in the mundaneness of a Tuesday evening. There is never a bad time to put on Hozier. He has remixed with Tiësto, James Hype, and MEDUZA to bring Saturday at 3 AM energy into his wheelhouse.

He fed us a single on March 1st, but it was only an acoustic recording of Be - off of Wasteland, Baby!, which is his 2019 album. We needed new music, and thankfully only had to wait until March 22nd; the Unheard EP had arrived. And I'm gonna dive in :

Too Sweet : I knew four chords into the song that it would become my new hyper fixation of the week. I knew TikTok was going to eat it up. It builds so smooth, so carefree yet calculated. It's sexy and it's the type of song to light all your candles to, then slowly move your hips the beat and feel deep baritone.

You know you're bright as the morning

As soft as the rain

Pretty as a vine

As sweet as a grape

LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING?! I know the message of the song is the couple having different lifestyles and not working out blah blah but like PRETTY AS A VINE AS SWEET AS A GRAPE? I'd melt. I'm a sucker for words, cards, little notes, etc so I'm always going to read too much into the lyrics which helps romanticize a song beyond the bass and synthesizers.

Wildflower and Barley : It's gentle, but not powerful in the same way Too Sweet is. Honestly, I really enjoy his voice in the chorus but I'm not in love with Allison Russell, and her feature uh kinda ruins it for me? Is that harsh? Ope.

Empire Now : I'd love for this song to wake me up every morning. But this also seems like a song that would be part of a movie soundtrack and not a reaaaaal part of his discography. I don't want to Gen Z slang here - but it's giving pre-battle scenes of the ending of The 100. Am I wrong? Or when they're leaving the Second Dawn Bunker for the first time? You're wrong if you disagree.

Fare Well : It wasn't hitting for me until the lil claps and "I'll be alright". However, it feels too Catholic X Jimmy Buffett. It's an Irishman's dream summer jam but that is not what I'm a Hozier stan for. I want the moody cloud and rainstorms, not the toes in the sand.

Overall, 1 out of 4 isn't that bad. It's a good batting average. Would I have loved a James Bay feature? 2000% and I will keep having hope. But for now, I'm content and working on learning every line.

TLDR : I love Too Sweet and the rest are meh!