Photo by Hannah Linkowsky
“Unreal Unearth,” released in its entirety in Aug., is Irish singer/songwriter Andrew Hozier Byrne’s third studio album. The album draws unique inspiration from Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” a 14th century epic poem about journeying through the nine circles of hell. Many of the tracks correlate to a different circle described in the poem: for example, “Francesca” refers to the circle of lust, while “Eat Your Young” refers to that of gluttony. It’s a storytelling approach unlike anything we’ve seen before, and it makes for quite the musical masterpiece. In our opinion, “Unreal Unearth” is undoubtedly Hozier’s best album.
De Selby (pt. 1)
The album opens with a modern lullaby in equal parts English and Gaelic. Without paying attention to the lyrics, one might assume this song’s meaning is as soft and comforting as its melody — but a closer listen reveals a meditation on inner and existential darkness. The title, as with the following track, is a reference to the protagonist of “The Third Policeman,” a novel by Irish writer Flann O’Brien, that is rife with the same themes. Literary allusion, as will become evident, is prominent throughout the entirety of “Unreal Unearth;” it seems that Hozier has spent a lot of time in the library since his last album.
De Selby (pt. 2)
Anyone who’s a sucker for seamless transitions between songs will quickly adopt “De Selby (pt. 2)” as their favorite track on the album. The steady pattern of chimes closing out pt. 1 gives way to a faster, groovy beat within seconds, and layers of lyrics fade in and out throughout the song as Hozier aptly sings of “fad[ing] away with you.” The stunner of the track comes at about the 50 second mark, when the instrumentals and vocal effects drop off. You know the clips in movies of the moment a bird or plane suddenly breaks above a shelf of clouds, out into the golden light and silent air? That’s what this song feels like.
First Time
The king of musical literary analysis knows a thing or two about metaphor. “First Time” focuses on themes of renewal and cyclicity; specifically, the cycle of love, and how much it is like the life and death of a flower. As new love blossoms, Hozier sings of how he “drank dry the river Lethe” (the river of forgetfulness in the Greek underworld). To find love is to sprout up from the dirt and awake to a new world — but flowers don’t bloom forever. The song ends with a twist of words like a punch to the gut — a once reminiscent recall of the “first time that you called me ‘baby’” changes to the “final time you called me ‘baby.’” And much like the cycle of a relationship, the music itself starts out slow and deliberate, soon picking up in both beat and passion, only to return to a mild, diminished close.
Francesca
In this upbeat yet profoundly passionate love song, the narrator repeats the sentiment that he would go through trials and tribulations again and again in order to be with the woman he loves. Even before the artist confirmed the track’s inspiration, fans suspected that “Francesca” was an overt reference to Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Francesca da Ramini, the real-life adulteress written as being eternally stuck in the second circle of hell, lust. This becomes most obvious toward the end of the song: “heaven is not fit to house a love like you and I.”
I, Carrion (Icarian)
“And though I burn, how could I fall / when I am lifted by every word you say to me?” Hozier has once again proven himself a poet in this heart-wrenching ballad that revives the classic Greek myth of Icarus, who died when his wax wings melted as he flew too close to the sun. These poignant lyrics, paired with the haunting, ethereal instrumentals behind them will make any listener feel as though they, too, are soaring… but may, at any moment, fall.
Eat Your Young
Even after the release of the full album, this single holds up as one of the catchiest and most thought-provoking¸ songs on “Unreal Unearth.” Though it might take a few dozen listens to get the lyrics down, a look into them is well worth your time. In an interview with Genius, Hozier references the song’s satirical tone — like that of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” — as it criticizes how children’s lives are put on the line for the “culture wars” perpetuated by those in power.
Damage Gets Done (ft. Brandi Carlile)
Brandi Carlile is a contemporary folk/alternative country singer and songwriter whose unique vocals pair beautifully with Hozier’s soulful crooning. Like “Francesca,” this song references Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and the fourth circle of hell, greed. Hozier told the Belfast Telegraph that “Damage Gets Done” “[reflects] on the negative space between being young and silly and being reckless — and the actual harm that is done in the long term of life on the planet or in society.” Regardless of the heavy moral themes at play here, the cheerful tempo always makes me want to forget my worries and skip gleefully through a field.
Who We Are
The lyrics to “Unreal Unearth”’s eighth track present incredibly compelling visuals, most notably in the first verse: “to hold me like water/Or Christ, hold me like a knife.” The song discusses how a large part of life is simply “carving through the dark,” or trying to find answers within the unknown. I was devastated that this song was not performed at their show the 29 Sep. — it is one that I would have loved to hear live.
Son of Nyx
The first time I listened to “Son of Nyx,” my sister mistook it for a piece of music from Legend of Zelda. She’s not wrong — this purely instrumental track sounds like it came straight out of a mystical, woodland video game. With a stunning orchestral blend, the track is serene and obscure — ideal for the song’s namesake, Nyx, Greek goddess of the night. Hozier’s truly got something for everyone: mythology fans, orchestra enthusiasts and even gamers.
All Things End
This song pays homage to soulful instrumentals, a sound much of Hozier’s work is inspired by. “All Things End” will tug at the heartstrings of all the sentimentalists out there, as it considers the temporality of life through lyrics like “All that we intend is scrawled in sand / it slips right through our hands.” And the music video for this track, released in April, is the cherry on top. Set in a surgical room, the video expresses this message through a surgeon losing a patient. But noteworthy of the song is its acceptance of change; yes, things end, but “we should not change our plans / when we begin again.”
To Someone From a Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe)
From the first time I heard it, I knew I’d be playing a sorrowful and yearning track on repeat. My appreciation tripled, however, after hearing Hozier’s own explanation for the song. In Gaelic, “Uiscefhuarithe” is a compound word describing, more or less, the feeling you get from touching something cold and knowing it has been made that way by water. At the concert, Hozier said he wanted to convey the feeling of going to sleep in the frigid depths of a winter night to a person who had never experienced it. The utter poetry of this song is impossible to understand without having listened to it, so I would highly recommend that you take a moment to do so (preferably in your bed, buried under blankets).
Butchered Tongue
Here we travel to the seventh circle of hell: “hell of the violent and bestial.” Again tying his Irish heritage into his work, Hozier discusses his country’s bloody history of revolution; the song’s title refers to the bodily mutilation of Irish rebels in the eighteenth century by the English. The lyrics, as well as the double meaning of a “butchered tongue,” reflect how cultural oppressors often seek to erase all signs of victim groups’ language and identity, such as with Australian Aborigine and Native American populations.
Anything But
In “Anything But,” Hozier decides he’ll give a reprieve from the tears — or, at least, he’ll give you an upbeat tune. The song adopts the earthy mood of “Unreal Unearth” with fantastic imagery of cliffsides, riptides, rainsticks and stampedes. Despite its cheerful energy, the song seems to speak of a relationship at its breaking point, with two people headed in different directions.
Abstract (Psychopomp)
The meaning of this song is, well, abstract. In mythology, a psychopomp is a creature who brings dead souls to the afterlife, and Hozier has stated that his inspiration here draws from a mix of memories from his youth surrounding death: “darling, there’s a part of me / I’m afraid will always be / trapped within an abstract from a moment of my life.” This song is incredibly written and evokes some of my own deepest memories and feelings (as I think is the intention).
Unknown / Nth
“Do you know, I could break beneath the weight/of the goodness, love, I still carry for you.” Yeah, ouch. There’s so much to be said of such a lovely song, but it’s hard to find the words when the song leaves you speechless. An intimate moment captured between the singer and a guitar, the song bottles up the feeling of retired love. Between the deep verses and lighthearted interjections of “sha la la,” “Unknown / Nth” illustrates the feeling of departing with a love that you don’t want to see go.
First Light
The album’s concluding song highlights how the end of one thing can put a spotlight on all that is new, beautiful and waiting. An explosive song with stunning vocals serving testament to the singer’s impressive vocal range, the song highlights how one transformative experience can be like a sunrise on a new day — “The sky set to burst / the gold and the rust/the color erupts.” The grandeur of the chorus makes it, in my opinion, one of the most stunning and compelling moments on the album.
Through Me (The Flood)
“Through Me (The Flood)” was released in tandem with the singles “Eat Your Young” and “All Things End” earlier this year, causing fans to question why it was left off of the final tracklist. Putting Hozier’s Irish brogue and magnificent breath control on full display, this song follows a protagonist through a fierce storm during which he is made to question his strength and will to carry on. The songwriter says he was inspired by the world’s resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Concert Review
Hozier’s entire discography is intensely emotional and moving as it is, but to see his work live and hear the passion of his words firsthand was an experience like no other. We were lucky enough to see the Philadelphia leg of the “Unreal Unearth” tour, held at the Mann Music Center’s ambient and intimate outdoor pavilion on the night of Friday, Sept. 29. The concert opened with a half dozen songs from folk-rock musician Madison Cunningham, who Hozier also brought out for a duet of “Work Song” in the encore.
The show in itself was a spectacle; over the course of two dozen songs from all three of his albums, Hozier demonstrated his magical storytelling skills while simultaneously picking out intricate melodies on guitar and showing off his impressive vocal range. The singer appeared in front of a superimposed blood red moon for “Cherry Wine,” a curtain of heather for “To Be Alone With You” and a sky of stars for “To Someone From a Warm Climate.” Of course, he also played “Take Me To Church,” the song that even non-fans surely know every word to.
All in all, we know we’d go through the nine circles of hell to experience the show again.
Hannah Linkowsky is a third-year Early Grades Prep major in the Honors College with minors in Spanish and Dance Performance. HL977843@wcupa.edu.
Olivia Schlinkman is a third-year Political Science major with minors in Journalism and Spanish. OS969352@wcupa.edu.