Hozier - Unreal Unearth

Wow, in a 10-year career, Hozier has only three studio albums, somehow I didn’t even notice.

As a comeback, we are met by the album "Unreal Unearth" - a very rich and very grandiose work inspired by "Dante's Inferno" and the concept of nine circles of hell. Hozier sends his listener on a mystical and dark journey with many twists and turns in front of their eyes.

The album surprises with its depth and mythology, which you want to study even more after listening to it, in order to clearly understand all the absolutely amazing references and subtexts of the artist. It seems that this time Hozier showed us the best version of himself as a poet and composer, not being afraid to plunge into the most daring and terrible thoughts and emotional experiences. All this seems to envelop you and makes you be not just an outside observer, but also a full-fledged participant in the events.

This album has both traditional Hozier folk, classic rock with alternative, and dark pop - this quite aptly helps to give the record the necessary cinematography. Despite the rather long running time (62 minutes), "Unreal Unearth" starts incredibly powerfully and does not lose pace until the 11th track [To Someone From A Warm Climate], after which it seems that thematically and musically the album is moving down a bit, but already on the 15th track [Unknown / Nth] skillfully returns to the right path and completes this journey with the best song of the entire record [First Light]. Conceptually, this can easily be called Hozier's best work, but in terms of content, so far, it can be safely compared with his magnificent debut album.

Slightly off-topic, I kept thinking throughout the listening that this is what Ed Sheeran could be if he wanted to. Musician. A real one. Ed, pay attention. It may not be the #1 on pop radio, but this is music that will hold its own bar in 10 years. Hozier - bravo.

8.1/10