Katherine Witts
Irish singer-songwriter, Hozier, released his seductive new EP on St Patrick’s day.
After a short hiatus, the lyrically spellbinding artist blessed fans with his new EP after teasing the first track, ‘Eat Your Young’, on Spotify over the past month. The Irish singer, formally known as Andrew Hozier-Bryan, is renowned for his seductive music inspired by religion. Hozier is most famously known for his self-titled album of 2014 which featured the single ‘Take Me To Church’. The single became pivotal among young queer audiences due to its rebellion towards religion in the name of love.
‘EAT YOUR YOUNG’
Taking inspiration from Dante’s ‘Inferno’, ‘Eat Your Young’ delves into some of the nine circles of hell: gluttony and heresy. When entering lockdown in 2020, the musician began reading the 14th-century piece of literature simply to help pass the time. He stated in an interview with the Rolling Stone how the EP “reflects on loss and how we try to take stock in the face of so much loss.”
“I’m starvin’ darling. Let me put my lips to something. Let me wrap my teeth around the world” – Eat Your Young
The lead track is a clear example of Dante’s third circle of hell, gluttony. With its lustful lyrics and pulsating beat, we can see why this is the most popular on the EP. Unsurprisingly, the track has almost 5 million more streams than the two later tracks.
‘ALL THINGS END’
‘All Things End’ is a calmer, trance-like track in comparison. It’s filled with hope and feels almost like a prayer. The incorporation of gospel singers toward the end makes for a perfect love song incorporating both uncertainty as well as hope: “we should not change our plans when we begin again.”
“I have never known a silence like the one fallen here. Never watch my future darken in a single tear” – All Things End
Fans often compliment Hozier’s lyricism as if he had been ‘written by a woman’. His use of vocabulary that often worships his partners, blended with his soft, raspy voice is almost poetic. As we can see, each song on the EP is an insight into the singer’s view of religion, loss, and hopelessness.
‘THROUGH ME (THE FLOOD)’
The third track, ‘Through Me’, is my personal favourite by far. It begins as if we are hearing Hozier’s muffled voice underwater. Incorporating the gospel elements from the previous track, we feel the true soulfulness and vulnerability in his storytelling. This track alone is evidence enough of how Hozier can illustrate a story filled with anticipation, suspense, and loss.
“Picture a grave six feet freshly dug. The sharp temporary walls at the long-term cliff of the world” – Through Me (The Flood)
The singer explains how “There’s a subtle element and I wanted to be light and playful with it. The album can be taken as a… little bit of a journey.” He continues by explaining the journey within the EP through the perspective of Dante’s ‘Inferno’: “It starts with a descent and I’ve arranged the songs according to their themes into nine circles, just playfully reflecting Dante’s nine circles and then an ascent at the end,” (Rolling Stone, 2023)
TOUR
Hozier is currently touring the US and is set to embark on his UK and Europe tour in the next couple of months. I couldn’t be more excited to see him in Cardiff in July.
Featured image courtesy of wang yan on Unsplash Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Katherine Witts
Kath is a native Welsh-speaker and learning support assistant. She has a background in journalism, working for Upday News, a branch of Samsung, as a junior news editor. As a former entertainment editor for Empoword and co-founder of Empoword's 'Pop Babble' podcast, Kath loves all things music, film, TV, and literature.