Hozier (2023)

One Liner:  Massively popular Irish blues rock with the Take Me To Church song

Wikipedia Genre:  Indie rock, soul, blues, folk, R&B, blues rock

Home: Ireland

Poster Position: Headliner!
Both Weekends.
Sunday at 6:15

Thoughts:  I'm getting towards the end of my reviews, and I have been holding off on doing this one, in part because this guy confounds me a little bit.  I really liked his first album, but I haven't paid attention to him since.  And yet when he was named as a Headliner (!?!?!) for this year's Fest, I heard multiple people straight freaking out that he would be here.  My neice-in-law said that she is dying for a Hozier tattoo.  I heard more than one person say there are more excited about Hozier than anything else on the poster.  Which is, huh?

Now, don't get me wrong, I loved that 2014 self-titled album.  I've professed my love for it repeatedly on this blog.  In my preview for his eventually cancelled 2014 ACL show.  In my top ten for the 2015 Fest.  In a short review of his album.  In my top albums of 2014 post.  In my review before he came to ACL in 2015.  This disc is full of very great music.  He went 6 times platinum in Ireland and 3 times here in the States.  It was a major album.  It also came out nine years ago though.

"Take Me to Church" is the juggernaut, the unstoppable tune that has FUCKING TWO POINT ONE BILLION FUCKING STREAMS despite being rock and roll.  Holy shit.  I CANNOT believe that this song has over 2 billion streams.  That is seriously mind-boggling.

Jacked up video though...

You might recall that he was scheduled to come to ACL in 2014, but called in sick or something and we missed out.  Which bloooooowwwwws.  Then he came back the next year and was very good.  The portions that I didn't like in 2015 were his cover tunes, so hopefully now that he has a few discs out there he'll shy away from dumb Ariana Grande songs.  But, if "Take Me To Church" is all you know from this guy, then by all means, keep listening.  He's good.

I heard a cover version of "Work Song" the other day, and it reminded me how damn pretty that one is.  361.8 million streams.

Beauty.  The excellent "Someone New" has 420 million streams, and the similarly nice "Cherry Wine" boasts 433.9 million streams.  These are big hits.  But my favorite from all of them is "Jackie and Wilson."  219.5.

Hells yeah.  Its honestly hard to believe this dude is from Ireland.  Great tune.  I still listen to that one today.

After that original disc, he released a four song EP, called "Nina Cried Power," in 2018.  The first track, featuring Mavis Staples, is a power blues rocker about stepping up in the face of oppression, that gives shouts to everyone from James Brown to John Lennon for fighting the power.  The second tune is a dark, slow, burning warning to those who might mess with his baby called "NFWMB."  I like that one a lot.  Third song is a more traditional blues rock stomper, "Moment's Silence (Common Tongue)," that sounds like Hozier's prior songs.  "Shrike," the fourth and final tune, has that lilting Irish guitar sound that he uses to great effect on the first album, which adds some cool depth to an otherwise relaxed ballad.

Aside - what is a "shrike?"  "a songbird with a strong sharply hooked bill, often impaling its prey of small birds, lizards, and insects on thorns."  Criminy.  I need to go listen more closely to those lyrics, is this a song about Bird the Impaler?  Yep, the chorus says that he wants to be reborn as "the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn."  So, in his next life, he wants to be the killer that uses her thorn to store his murdered prey?  I'm more confused now that when I started.

After that, he came out with 2019's Wasteland, Baby!  It does not appear that I ever reviewed it - this is what I mean, he just kind of fell off the map after his big debut album.  I say that, and yet it is a really good disc.  I've just run through it several times and it is lovely music.  Why did I start ignoring this cat? The hit was "Almost (Sweet Music)," with 334.2 million streams.

oooh, super wide angle video!  So cinematic!  Lovely little tune - his voice is really singular.  Hard to believe he's an Irish dude when he sounds like a soulful throwback singer from some 50's rock band.  Speaking of which, who is this dude?  I've talked a lot about his tunes but not about him.

Andrew John Hozier-Byrne was raised in County Wicklow, Ireland, which is on the eastern shore of the island and is named after the Old Norse for Vikings' Meadow.  Badass.  Also, sounds like a beautiful place - known as the "Garden of Ireland."  Born in 1990 to a blues drummer and an artist, and says that he was a class clown and that school was a monotonous nightmare.  He taught himself guitar and sang in his school choir as a teenager, and then studied music education at Trinity College Dublin.  At Trinity he sang in a choral ensemble, touring internationally.  But after that time, he wrote "Take Me To Church" in 2013 during a period when he was playing open mics and trying to get noticed.  The tune went viral and scored many multi-platinum designations, leading to his first album by 2014.  He has stated that his dad's love of blues helped inform his musical education - John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding, Nina Simone - and you can hear that in his bluesy rock.

Finally, 2023's Unreal Unearth.  I've definitely heard "Eat Your Young," the bigger hit from this one.  I guess that has been on the radio or something, totally rings a bell.  93.1 million streams.

Cool video.  Song is okay - not blowing my mind.  I like the duet with Brandi Carlile.  Also, this album is too damn long.  Over an hour for a Hozier album?  What do you think this is a Drake release?  But, like the 2019 album it is good stuff.  Dawning on me that I really like Hozier.  Who knew?  I guess I'll be over there instead of seeing the YYYs.