Is Hozier’s debut album given enough credit?
We need to celebrate one of the all-time great debut albums.
September 2013 – cast your mind back, it simultaneously feels both a lifetime ago and just the other day – the past, yet still feels present. Lorde releases her debut album Pure Heroine. Breaking Bad airs it’s final episode, Brooklyn 99 premieres it’s first one. Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are at the top of the Tennis World. The same, but different. And the most important musical moment of that month happens in a small town in Ireland…
A lanky man named Andrew releases a song that would go on to transcend internet virality and change millions of people’s lives forever.
“My lover’s got humour…”
‘Take Me To Church’ is a touchpoint moment for everyone who hears it. It’s a stop you in your tracks song. It’s a “where were you when you first heard it” song. And in the proceeding year it was a “is this guy a one-hit wonder?” song. The gigantic impact of ‘Take Me To Church’ cannot be overstated. It’s currently one of only 25 songs to hit 3 Billion (With A B) streams on Spotify – and it’s the only one to be overtly political and controversially progressive with it’s message.
It’s original music video was a sensation, setting hearts and minds ablaze with it’s soul crushing depiction of a same-sex relationship oppressed and destroyed by a dominant religion. Fun stuff!
That’s a heavy beauty.
‘Take Me To Church’ has become to the 2000s what Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ is to the 90s – a defining song that steals the definition of a religious word and forever changes it’s association. Every utterance of ‘Amen’ now has a taste of Hozier in it. But back to the One Hit Wonder question. Surely this long haired introvert from Bray couldn’t follow up a tsunami with anything close to a dangerous wave…
Cut to September 2014, he shares his answer – a 13 track debut album simply named Hozier. A decade later he’s celebrating this gorgeous and important album with a limited-edition Vinyl release, featuring 4 tracks that have never been put to vinyl before. Spoiler alert: he wasn’t a one hit wonder, he was a songsmith.
Critics were impressed by the first album’s offerings beyond the mammoth opening track. The New Zealand Herald called him “a prodigious talent who writes lyrics with the passion and curiosity of youth, but the poetry of a much older troubadour.”
Rolling Stone: “his YouTube hit ‘Take Me to Church’ won him a wave of insta-hype, and his debut LP earns it.”
From Clash Magazine: “Hozier is an authentic portrait of an artist – soulful, spiritual and seductive – and is a deeply impressive first step.”
But more important than the critics were the listeners. We eagerly gave the full album a listen when it was released, and we are still listening to it 10 years later. It’s the past, but still feels present.
‘From Eden’ was the second single. It’s flamenco-tinged bridge was a taste of Hozier’s ambition – but it’s the strong Motown feel of the track that gave us a glimpse of how important that music is to him. In each subsequent album his adoration of Soul music has been explored and expanded. He’s been respectful and earnest in his reverence, and his political activism has shown an authentic caring that no one can question.
The Blues work on ‘Jackie And Wilson’ and ‘Angel Of Small Death And Codeine Scene’ are the grittiest work on the album, infusing the front half of the album with a rock and roll energy that – shock horror – inspires you to dance and break a sweat. It’s in these tracks that Hozier truly told the world “I’m more than just ‘Take Me To Church’, so don’t try to pigeon-hole me.”
Andrew Hozier-Byrne is very Irish – this probably goes without saying, but just in case you didn’t know now you do. His heritage is infused in his personality, composition, and writing.
Growing up a Protestant-Quaker in a Catholic dominated community, in a Country that was fighting for its own individualism from an overbearing Kingdom gave the young artist a Mariana Trench level of deep empathy, justice, and righteousness. The history of Irish folklore and literature come through strong in his brutal romance stories like ‘Work Song’ and ‘Like Real People Do’. You can feel the dirt on the fingers and see the chilled air breath of their protagonists. These songs contain novels worth of backstory in their deceptively sparse prose.
It’s the exciting variety contained within Hozier that made it such a hit at the time of release. However it’s the cohesive and singular authenticity of an artist’s voice that has kept Hozier on the playlists of so many fans. The pan was not flashed. Hozier stands the test of time – it was certified Platinum in New Zealand in 2018, and just last year it was certified 6x Platinum.
There is not a bad song on the tracklist, and everyone will have a different favourite at any given time. If you haven’t listened to the full album in a while you should take some time out of your day today and put it on. Cast your mind back 10 years and let the memories of your personal journey flow through you as his angel of a voice guides you.
10 years and still as impactful as ever – that is the legacy of Hozier (the album and the artist) – they feel old and new. It’s timeless. Music that flows through the universe like blood as rare and sweet as Cherry Wine.
Shop the exclusive 10th Anniversary Edition Opaque Custard Vinyl here.
