Three is certainly the lucky number when it comes to ‘Unreal Unearth’, Hozier’s third studio album and the ten-year mark of the Irish singer-songwriter’s growing collection of earthy acoustics and brooding lyricism. However, this doesn’t begin to encompass everything that ‘Unreal Unearth’ is – an eclectic, chilling epic that masterfully chooses its moments of sultry storytelling, angsty ballads, haunting choral symphonies, and the tenderness that has become synonymous with Hozier’s discography. After four years since his sophomore album, ‘Wasteland Baby!’, Hozier has returned with his most grandiose work yet. Inspired by Dante’s Inferno – a story that follows Dante’s journey through hell – Hozier uses the nine circles of hell as a framework for the all-consuming sixteen-track album. While Hozier is best known for his cosy indie-folk sound threaded with Irish folklore, ‘Unreal Unearth’ represents a maturity – the enthralling progression into an ambitious, cinematic experimentation that does not shy away from showcasing the singer-songwriter’s vocal range and mesmerising lyricism.
‘Unreal Unearth’ begins with a gentle guitar melody in ‘De Selby (Part 1),’ encapsulating Hozier’s classic dark, earthy sound. In this lullaby-esque opener, we first hear the singer-songwriter’s homage to Ireland with a Gaelic final verse. The delicate intimacy of ‘De Selby (Part 1)’ seamlessly blossoms into ‘De Selby (Part 2),’ a self-described “funky disco love song” that debuts the more powerful side of Hozier’s vocals.
Hozier delivers his trademark poetics on ‘First Time’, where lyrics like, “Infinitely Suffering, but fighting off like all creation / The absence of itself, anyway”, shine as the foreground against the understated swell of strings. The masterful storytelling continues on ‘Francesca,’ an ode to Dante’s second circle of hell – lust. The fourth track explores themes of love and commitment with lyrics such as, “Though I know my heart would break / I’d tell them, “Put me back in it” / Darlin’, I would do it again / If I could hold you for a minute“. This angsty rock ballad is the heaviest song on ‘Unreal Unearth’ thus far, a dramatic contrast to its successor, ‘I, Carrion (Icarian)’, a tender guitar and string-centred track that is reminiscent of Hozier’s more mellow works, ‘Like Real People Do’ and ‘Wasteland, Baby!’. These softer moments on ‘Unreal Unearth’ are understated gems that hold their weight even against the striking succeeding tracks comprised of grander vocals and arrangements.
‘Eat Your Young’ is one of the album’s more sultry moments and undeniably the most radio-friendly track of the LP; a catchy, hook-filled sound that Hozier has used sparingly in his last two records with great payoff. This track represents the third circle of hell, gluttony, in which Hozier writes about the destruction that inevitably comes with overconsumption: “Come and get some / Skinnin’ the children for a war drum / Puttin’ food on the table, sellin’ bombs and guns / It’s quicker and easier to eat your young”.
American singer-songwriter, Brandi Carlile, joins Hozier on the seventh track, ‘Damage Gets Done,’ the upbeat indie-rock reference to greed, the fourth circle of hell. The duo brings brightness to the album, despite the bleakness of lyrics like, “Wish I had known it was just our turn (we just got by) / Being blamed for a world we had no power in (but we tried)”.
Hozier’s powerful range of vocals is on full display in ‘Unreal Unearth’, with ‘Who We Are’ opening with soft piano keys that later explode into a dramatic ballad. This powerhouse is the final cry before the instrumental interlude, ‘Son of Nyx’, the haunting, cinematic standout of ‘Unreal Unearth’. Where the strings and piano were masterfully understated throughout the album, they bloom as the hypnotic forefront in this film score-like track meant to symbolise “Dante’s first steps toward the light on his journey through hell.”
The tenth track is a soulful nod to the sixth circle of hell, heresy. The powerful backing vocals come to the centre in a gospel choir at the end, one of the well-chosen grandiose moments on ‘Unreal Unearth’.
‘To Someone From a Warm Climate (Uiscefhuaraithe)’ and ‘Butchered Tongue’ feel like prayerful odes to Hozier’s Irish heritage, both songs letting the focus fall on his soft vocals and storytelling abilities through lyrics. ‘Uiscefhuaraithe’ is an Irish word that means “something that has been made cold by water”. “The feel of coolness only water brings / There are some things that no-one teaches you, love, / That God in his awful wisdom first programs in”, he sings. Violence, the seventh circle of hell, is the heart of ‘Butchered Tongue’ where Hozier depicts the loss of language and culture as a result of colonial violence.
‘Anything But’ is a jarringly bright folk song following the bleakness of its predecessors, and serves as an upbeat intermission before ‘Unreal Unearth’ moves into another heart-wrenching ballad with ‘Abstract (Psychopomp)’. This tender track feels like the catharsis of a memory and shows Hozier’s voice at its best.
Hozier’s signature guitar melodies comprise the second to last track, ‘Unknown / Nth’ and showcase his lyricism at their most evocative: “Do you know I could break beneath the weight? / Of the goodness, love, I still carry for you / That I’d walk so far just to take / The injury of finally knowin’ you”.
‘Unreal Unearth’ comes to a close with ‘First Light’, an appropriately grand ending meant to represent the end of Dante’s journey through hell. This closer is the sum of the record’s best parts – powerful vocals, poetic lyricism, cinematics, and a soaring sense of catharsis.
It’s been ten years since the Irish singer-songwriter released his 2013 debut single, ‘Take Me to Church’, and he has managed to retain his haunting poetics both in lyricism and sound. However, it’s evident that Hozier has had plenty of time to grow into versatility. The solitary writing of Hozier’s previous works resulted in two mesmerising albums, but his experimentation with co-writers in ‘Unreal Unearth’ has created an elevated sound complete with polished production, cohesive variety, a strong sense of identity, and the first steps toward light during his journey through hell.
Written by Bernice Santos
GEM Magazine 