“Unaired by Hozier: Unaired
☆☆☆☆☆
The past year has been tumultuous for Andrew Hozier-Byrne, the mesmerising singer-songwriter known for his hit, Take Me to Church. He has stirred up a significant amount of noise with his third album, Unreal Unearth, taking his music to new heights. The album infuses his distinctive songwriting with a sinister bent of folk-horror and veiled allusions to Flann O’Brien’s surreal narrative, The Third Policeman. A couple of its standout tracks, De Selby Parts one and two, pay homage to a character from O’Brien’s tale.
Earlier this year in March, Hozier dropped the Unheard EP, which was put together during the Unreal Unearth sessions. The album’s standout track Too Sweet was a relaxed and powerful number that made its mark by topping charts in the United States. Rounding off a busy summer of tours, he has now released a thrilling new three-track EP, Unaired, drawn from the same sessions as Unreal Unearth. Its opening track, the spine-chillingly potent Nobody’s Soldier, showcases Hozier at his finest.
The singer remains intriguing when he experiments with larger narratives, and this is evident in Nobody’s Soldier. His evocative growl combined with a thundering blues guitar line creates a captivating dissonance. The themes in Unreal Unearth are reflected here, painting a picture of nature as a mysterious and ominous entity on the margins of human comprehension. His lyrics resonate with a sense of foreboding: “if I tell you this is drowning,” he sings darkly, “you’ll tell me I’m walking on water.”.
In explaining the song, he articulated that it is a visceral reflection on the world’s ongoing tragedies – warfare, bigotry, and the frenzy of social media. He has been vocal about these subjects on tour, concluding his performances with a plea for peace in Gaza – a commendable action that many artists of his status often avoid. ”
Faithfully reflecting its description, “Nobody’s Soldier” profoundly portrays the fear intertwined in a large part of contemporary life. The music builds an increasing sense of unease before he proclaims in the chorus, “Darling, I’m rejecting any instructions / I don’t intend to be anyone’s foot soldier.”
Besides, “Unaired” encompasses two additional melodies, both effectively contrasting the magnitude and resonance of “Nobody’s Soldier”. “July” offers a pleasant piece of blues pop, and in contrast, “That You Are”, a cooperative piece with the Syrian-American artist Bedouine, is brilliantly simplistic, ascending like mist in the breeze.
The consistent aspect throughout is Hozier’s pleasure despite the gravity of the content. The three songs under “Unaired” exude an air of cheekiness and cleverness – characteristics which were also at the forefront of “Too Sweet” and further establish the 2024 version of Hozier as potentially the most captivating to date.
“Unaired” will be officially released on Friday, August 16th.