When I first heard Hozier’s single, “Take Me To Church,” I was blown away. His voice was soulful, velvety and haunting. I was very surprised to hear such a song on the radio because there weren’t many songs like that then. Thankfully, my mother decided to buy the album, so we put that in the car stereo and listened to it for weeks. His whole album spoke to me. There is not one song on it that I don’t like. That hardly happens, but Hozier is that amazing to me.
Hozier’s actual name is Andrew Hozier-Byrne. He’s an Irish musician and songwriter from County Wicklow, Ireland. At first he studied music at Trinity College, Dublin, but after producing some demos for Universal Ireland, he dropped out. In 2013, he signed with Rubyworks and then his EP "Take Me To Church" came out. The single and music video really impacted his career. According to an interview by Prowlster, the video accumulated some 35,000 views within twenty-four hours of being posted.The artist described his song as a response to the anti-gay legislation in Russia that was established at that time. He also said that it references the Catholic Church and how the doctrines of religion undermine the natural aspects of humanity.
I actually had the honor of going to see Hozier perform with my mother at the Santa Barbara Bowl in 2015. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. Since the venue was small, I felt a lot closer to him. And I realized that some of his songs are quite dark but beautiful nonetheless, even more so now that I know the meanings behind them. During the performance he would describe some of his songs. One that really caught my attention was “In A Week.” He said it was a folk melody about the Wicklow Hills, a place in Ireland where bodies are usually discovered. In the song a couple wanders into the Wicklow Hills and never returns. Although it has a dark theme, it really is a masterpiece.
Hozier’s music is very unique and relatable all at the same time. He sings about different topics like love, finding happiness and moving on. Although he only has one album out and a song that was featured in the live action movie, "Tarzan," I’m sure whatever he’s working on now, his new songs will be just as amazing!
