Listening to Hozier’s third and most recent album Unreal Unearth for the first time made me want to close my eyes and blend into the music. The album is based on the classical novel Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Hozier told Apple Music, “…[F]or me, all those myths are happening around us all the time, you can play with them a lot and reinterpret them and then subvert them as well.” Literature, religion, and classical imagery come through in his album, making it stand apart from the crowd in terms of current music.
When I began the album, I immediately gravitated towards the emphasis of string instruments and his vocals. His use of layering his vocals with the vocals of choirs and other singers gave me goosebumps. The album starts off with “De Selby (Part 1)” which sounds similar to his musical style. The end of this introduction song is met with an instrumental that, I feel, can only be described as a descent. Not only does this instrumental sound like a descent, but it touches the soul in a dark way, making you feel as if you are stepping into the first layer of Hell. However, not all the songs on this album are somber. There are a few fast-paced songs on the album such as “How the Damage Gets Done,” which Hozier called a “power ballad.” Another one of these songs is “All Things End” which is my favorite fast-paced song from the album. It describes the futility of trying to make something last forever: “All that we intend is scrawled in sand/Or slips right through our hands.”
Hozier has a very specific style that I have yet to find in other artists, and this is exemplified in my favorite song in the album “Unknown / Nth.” This song dives into the topic of truly knowing someone, and how sometimes that’s not a good thing. It refers to how Hozier refused to see the red flags that were there in his partner, “You called me an angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me/You smile now, I can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth.” In the bridge Hozier belts, “Do you know I could break beneath the weight/Of the goodness, love, I still carry for you?” Songs like these really define Hozier’s style, and his focus on the reality of relationships. Often in current music songs about love are usually about being simply “good” or “bad,” but Hozier dives deeper into ideas like this, making the line much more blurred, which is often how it truly is.
If I could describe this album in one word, it would be “ethereal.” It made me feel as if I was experiencing the rawness of the earth for the first time. The album cover depicts this exact feeling; Hozier’s face is buried under soil, permeating in between his teeth while a daisy blooms from his mouth. I highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys literature and poetry as this album burrows into your soul.
