Hozier’s long-awaited album ‘Unreal Unearth’ shares a bewitching outlook on love
4 years, 5 months, and 17 days.
That’s how long it’s been since Hozier has released an album, and it was 100% worth the wait.
Hozier’s newest album “Unreal Unearth” is a beautiful new take on love. The album is 16 songs, lasting 1 hour 2 minutes of sensational storytelling, clever lyrics, alluring musicality and unique elements.
Overall, the majority of Hozier’s songs tell intriguing stories. Every listener no matter their situation can find a song of his that they can relate to.
“All Things End” is a beautiful rendition of a failed love. As the title suggests, Hozier believes all things end, no matter how good they were. He backs up this take with the lyrics “all that we intend is scrawled in sand,” highlighting that no matter how much one believes in something it will eventually be washed away by the waves of life.
Unlike “All Things End,” “First Light” puts the timeless story of falling in love into words. Hozier describes his realization that he’s in love as the first light, wondering how he lived his whole life before this moment. He uses the lyrics “but after this I’m never gonna be the same/And I am never going back again,” to emphasize the fact he would never change how things went with this person. This also underlines how much this person affected him for the better.
To elevate his storytelling, Hozier also uses lots of figurative language and clever lyrics that keep listeners interested. His often use of illustrated language throughout the album adds so much depth to every song, leading listeners to uncover more and more meaning with every listen.
The song, “I, Carrion (Icarian)” is full of personification and metaphors. To convey the idea of his decline Hozier uses the lyrics “if these heights should bring my fall” and “allow the ground to find its brutal way to me.” The usage of figurative language and descriptive words just exaggerates the situation and it adds much more emotion to the song.
Behind all of Hozier’s lyrics and storytelling is arguably the most important part of any song, the musicality. The mix of upbeat songs and angsty instrumentals creates the perfect blend for a Hozier album.
“Son of Nyx,” an almost fully instrumental song, adds a transcendental feeling to the overall vibe of the album. It makes listeners feel uneasy and anxious yet hopeful and intrigued, all only using string instruments and vocals.
To create that perfect balance of your typical Hozier album, “Francesca” and “First Time” bring in some more poppy and upbeat elements to the collection. Both of these songs are extremely catchy and just fun to listen to.
A few more notable things about “Unreal Unearth” were Hozier’s odes to his heritage, a feature and “Through Me (The Flood)” being left from the album.
Both “De Selby (Part 1)” and “Butchered Tongue” are beautiful songs relating back to his Irish heritage. In one he sings in Gaelic while in the other he sings about Gaelic and how lucky he feels to understand the music of his heritage. These songs are such an admirable way for him to honor his ancestors.
Next, in the song “Damage Gets Done (feat. Brandi Carlile),” the twos’ voices go together perfectly and it brings some more of that poppy vibe into the album. Carlile’s verse was stunning but the parts they sang together were even better.
Lastly, the only disappointing thing about this album is the lack of the song “Through Me (The Flood).” This song was included in the waterfall drop of some songs from the album yet wasn’t included in the actual album, which is a shame because it has some really beautiful lyrics and storytelling.
Overall “Unreal Unearth,” including “Through Me (The Flood),” is an amazing album and is exactly what Hozier fans have been wanting all this time.
