Just like many other people, I found out about Hozier because of his song “Take Me to Church.” I listened to the song once and immediately loved it. His voice, the lyrics, the message. It was beautiful. 

As I began to listen to more of his songs I was immediately in awe of his work. I have been listening to him for about seven years now and I will always get excited when I hear that he is releasing new music. 

Hozier recently released his four song EP called Unheard. The COVID pandemic prompted him to create his third album Unreal Unearth, ultimately leading to the release of his EP, Unheard. Due to the circumstances of the pandemic and the things he had experienced in his own life, he created the songs around the idea of Dante’s Inferno and the nine levels of hell–each song representing a different level. 

When told 16 songs was too much for the Unreal Unearth album, he decided to save four of the songs which are now presented through the EP Unheard. “Too Sweet” was meant to represent gluttony, “Empire Now” representing violence, “Fare Well” representing the ascent out of hell, and “Wildflower and Barley” representing limbo. Each song is very different from one another and Hozier takes us on a musical journey through all the different moods, styles, messages, and metaphors used within this EP. 

Although his usual genre of music is alternative/indie rock, he spreads out across many more different genres, so if you don’t like one song there is a good chance you will find another that is more your style, even within these four songs. This is typical for his music, as no two songs of his sound the same. 

Although, one thing that seems to be similar with all of his songs tends to be that he uses religious, historical, or mythological references within his songs to emphasize certain points or themes. For example, his third song on the EP “Empire Now” references Ireland’s independence and its impact on both the present and future. The line “100 years from the Empire Now” is repeated throughout the chorus, acknowledging progress of how far they’ve come when comparing it to their past history. The overall references to the revolution also connect back to violence - the seventh level of hell in Dante’s Inferno. In this song his goal was to convey the message for us as listeners to remember the past, stay optimistic, and continue to strive for something better in the future. 

 Another common theme to his songs seems to be aspects of love. His most popular song on his EP “Too Sweet” contains the line “You’re too sweet for me” as well as the verse that says “You know you're bright as the morning, As soft as the rain, Pretty as a vine, As sweet as a grape.” Using many different metaphors to show that he thinks this woman is too good for him and is treating her as a goddess, and he knows it, but does not want to hurt her because he knows he would–she is too fragile and full of love to be with a person like himself. In contrast, the wedding bells in the background symbolize how he can still see a future with her despite his internal conflicts.  

The way that he words his music is quite interesting and although there are lots of deep underlying messages, it still leaves you to interpret it for yourself. He has a way with words like no other artist I have listened to and I have listened to hundreds of different artists and thousands of different songs. And out of all of those different songs and artists, Hozier and his music will forever stand out to me.