Hozier: A decade has passed since the release of the internationally acclaimed track “Take Me to Church” by the Irish singer-songwriter Andrew Hozier-Byrne, better known as Hozier.
At the tender age of 23, Hozier was catapulted into global stardom by the resonating success of his chart-topping hit, “Take Me to Church.” The song’s widespread popularity reached a crescendo, capturing the hearts of listeners across more than a dozen countries and amassing over 2 billion Spotify streams earlier this year—a remarkable achievement that still leaves him awe-inspired.
In his own words, “The sheer magnitude of its success is a notion I can scarcely fathom.”
In tandem with the resounding triumph of “Take Me to Church,” Hozier has gracefully unveiled his long-anticipated third studio album, titled “Unreal Unearth,” which saw its official release just last Friday.
The path leading up to the creation of his third opus was far from smooth. Approximately three and a half years ago, Hozier stood on the brink of unleashing a wave of new musical creations. However, the sudden emergence of the pandemic drastically altered the landscape. This global crisis spurred a profound shift in perspective for the artist, compelling him to reexamine the relevance of his work within the context of the prevailing worldwide challenges.
“The tides of the world shifted, casting a different light on my work. Much of what I had conceived felt frivolous in the face of these seismic shifts. Thus, I found myself discarding numerous concepts and grappling to conjure inspiration and resonate with the moment,” he candidly shared.
As circumstances began to regain a semblance of normalcy, Hozier was presented with ample moments of introspection, embarking on what he aptly terms “internal janitorial work.”
In the throes of this process, a plethora of nascent ideas found their home within the recesses of his “mind, digital notepad, and a trove of countless self-addressed notes.”
Guided by the contours of love and loss, Hozier’s latest album navigates through the emotional landscape shaped by the profound aftermath of a heart-wrenching breakup. While he deftly channels these sentiments into his musical oeuvre, Hozier openly acknowledges the intricacies of delving into these themes during interviews.
“It was a phase marked by both splendor and strife,” he reflected.
In his evocative music video for “All Things End,” Hozier compellingly embodies the persona of a critically ill patient, allegorically encapsulating the era of tumultuous love and loss that underscored the album’s creation.
Hozier’s album stands as an unfiltered chronicle of his personal odyssey, an homage to the cathartic journey of growth and renewal.
Unveiling his creative process, Hozier illuminated the mystique surrounding the emergence of melodies—an almost magical occurrence that unites artists within a shared voyage of musical exploration.
“In those ephemeral moments, a wave is caught, and the room is filled with an air of intrigue, a collective inquiry, ‘What was that?’ The echoes of those elusive notes resound, and we liberate ourselves—it’s an immensely gratifying sensation,” he eloquently described.