Hozier Hozier

• 1 Take Me To Church 04:02
• 2 Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene 03:39
• 3 Jackie And Wilson 03:43
• 4 Someone New 03:43
• 5 To Be Alone 05:24
• 6 From Eden 04:43
• 7 In A Week 05:18
• 8 Sedated 03:28
• 9 Work Song 03:50
• 10 Like Real People Do 03:18
• 11 It Will Come Back 04:38
• 12 Foreigner's God 03:45
• 13 Cherry Wine 04:00
• Total Runtime 53:31

Info for Hozier

It's not often that you stumble across a songwriter whose lyrics both sound and read like poetry. When those lyrics are set to music that balances burning indignation with lilting tenderness, and delivered in a voice imbued with the spiritual passion and yearning of gospel and the blues, you figure you've chanced upon something special. And so it is with 23-year-old Andrew Hozier-Byrne, an Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from County Wicklow who goes by the name of Hozier.

Hozier releases his self-titled debut album on Columbia Records, following his two EPs Take Me To Church and From Eden. The new album produced by Ron Kirwan (PJ Harvey and Depeche Mode). Hozier will feature the hit single 'Take Me To Church' as well as his most recent release 'Sedated.'

Raised in a musical family, Hozier's childhood and adolescent listening was dominated, he says, 'by Chicago blues, Texan blues, Chess Records, Motown, and then I discovered jazz, but more importantly, Delta blues that extraordinarily haunting sound. Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, people like that. Later, it was Pink Floyd, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, plus Tom Waits was a huge, huge influence. I was always drawn to singers with something haunting about their voices. The same goes for writers such as James Joyce and Oscar Wilde. You can't define what it is, but it buries itself deep in your soul.'

After a string of sold out dates and electrifying performances including TV appearances on The Late Show With David Letterman and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Hozier will return stateside when he launches his first national headline tour this fall. The tour crisscrosses the country before wrapping up with two shows in New York City.

Tastemakers and critics have wholeheartedly embraced his spirited and soulful sound. He's drawn praise from NPR, New York Magazine, KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, MTV Buzzworthy, Consequence of Sound, and more. Most recently he was featured on NPR's All Things Considered and Tiny Desk Concert.

Andrew Hozier-Byrne
Born on St. Patrick's Day and hailing from County Wicklow, Hozier was raised on the building blocks of popular music: rhythm and blues, soul, jazz and the deep dark stuff stretching from Chicago to the Delta. He joined his first band when he was 15 years old, fronting a soul band with some older heads. Taught himself to play guitar and piano, and went to Trinity College to study music. Whilst there, he bagged a seat on the flight deck of the symphonic B-52 that is the Trinity Orchestra, fronting their missions into the world of classic rock.

However, four years looked like a long stretch, particularly when the goal was to write, record and perform his own music; so Hozier dropped out to concentrate his talents on the creative process full time. He tried out with a few different producers in various studios, experimented with genres; but never felt happy with the results. Home is where the art is, and a simple studio, set up in the attic proved to be the crucible where Hozier would forge a musical identity he could call his own. A place where Stevie Wonder and Billie Holiday are revered alongside James Joyce and Oscar Wilde.

He says: “Listen to any song, from any era; and you're looking through a keyhole into the artist's world as seen through their eyes. Art is, in it's simplest form, the reproduction of the world around us. All artists reproduce their vision of the world, and in doing so create a document that reflects the times they live in”. Which brings us back to the Twenty First Century Blues, and Hozier's unique, poetic evocations.

Hozier's first release is a 4 track EP. 'Take Me To Church' (the lead track) and 'Angel Of Small Death' reflect the gospel – soul gumbo at the heart of his music; 'Like Real People Do' is an Arcadian acoustic adventure and 'Cherry Wine' a raw emotional discourse, recorded live at 6am on an abandoned hotel rooftop; with accompaniment from the dawn chorus. Hozier played all the instruments (Fiachra Kinder helped out on drums), sang all the parts and recorded at home. Rob Kirwan (Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey) mixed the tracks in Dublin.

This album contains no booklet.