Hozier (album)

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Untitled

Hozier is the eponymous debut studio album from Irish musician Hozier. The album was released on 19 September 2014 through Island Records and Rubyworks Records. The album contains some tracks from Hozier's previous two EPs, Take Me to Church and From Eden.

Well received by music critics, Hozier was also commercially successful, reaching top ten positions in Ireland, UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Greece. The album's lead single "Take Me to Church" was a huge success worldwide, and also earned a nomination for Song of the Year at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015.

Recording

"Take Me to Church"
A sample of "Take Me to Church" by Hozier.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

At a live performance in Boston, Hozier explained that "Cherry Wine", was recorded late at night in an old, abandoned hotel with a caved-in roof and walls covered in graffiti. "It was like 5 in the morning and I was so tired... and it ended up on the first EP!"[5]

Lyrical content

The lyrics "Two corpses we were, two corpses I saw / They'd find us in a week" of "In a Week" revolve around an upland area known as the Wicklow Mountains or Wicklow Hills near Hozier's hometown of Bray. "Anytime you hear 'Wicklow Hills', it's usually before or after the words 'a body was found'," said Hozier.[5]

Singles

  • "Take Me to Church" was announced by Hozier as the lead single from the album, it was released on 13 September 2013. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Hozier's highest-charting single in the U.S. to date.
  • "From Eden" was released as the second single from the album on 9 March 2014. The song peaked to number 2 on the Irish Singles Chart.
  • "Sedated" was released as the third single from the album on 20 May 2014. The song peaked to number 3 on the Irish Singles Chart.
  • "Work Song" was released as the fourth single from the album on 16 March 2015.[6]
  • "Someone New" was released as the fifth single from the album on 11 May 2015.[7] The song peaked to number 13 on the Irish Singles Chart.
  • "Jackie and Wilson" was released as the sixth single from the album on 29 September 2015.
  • "Cherry Wine" was released as the seventh single from the album on 14 February 2016.

Release

The album was available to pre-order in Europe upon its announcement with North American and Australian pre-order dates from July 2014.[8] The album was released 19 September 2014.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Arts Desk[10]
The A.V. ClubB[11]
Clash8/10[2]
Entertainment WeeklyA-[12]
Exclaim!9/10[13]
The Irish Times[14]
Rolling Stone[3]
State[15]
The Telegraph[4]

Hozier received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79, based on ten reviews.[9]

AllMusic's Timothy Monger called the album "a strong debut," praising the singer's soulful voice and the quality of the material. "Like fellow Irishman Van Morrison did decades before, Hozier draws on the soul and R&B of Jackie Wilson and runs it through the mystery white-boy filter of Jeff Buckley, adding a touch of Bon Iver's rural indie aesthetic to mix into his own dark cocktail," he wrote.[1]

Sergiusz Królak of JazzSoul.pl claimed, "Hozier (...) revealed album with emotionally strong songs," adding that "acoustic-rock-ballad tracklist makes a great whole with deep-emotional vocal and strong lyrics".[16]

Simon Harper of Clash magazine commented that "His voice, more poitín-sweetened than whiskey-soaked, caresses delicate melodies and rougher rhythms alike with confidence – it lingers compellingly in the creeping blues of 'To Be Alone', whispers prettily in the folky 'Like Real People Do', and preaches fervently in the ragged R&B of 'Jackie And Wilson'. The Irishman's storytelling is suitably fluid, relying on the realism of true romance rather than affecting any impoverished Delta designs. As a result, 'Hozier' is an authentic portrait of an artist – soulful, spiritual and seductive – and is a deeply impressive first step."[2]

Rolling Stone magazine's Jon Dolan wrote, "Blessed with a sensual singing voice and a seemingly bottomless well of lapsed-Catholic-style conflict, Hozier channels Van Morrison's Celtic R&B, Southern soul and Black Keys-style garage blues into intimately roiling songs like 'Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene.'"[3]

Helen Brown of The Telegraph noted, "Gospel choirs hum and swell tenderly beneath the rougher edges of his riffs. They add mature, universal gravitas and often a holy ecstacy to an intense, youthful lyrical tangling of religion and romantic obsession that regularly finds him poised 'between love and abuse'," adding that "Hozier mixes his tormented blues with sunny R&B."[4]

In 2016, Hozier's song, "Arsonist's Lullaby", was featured in the film trailer for the Ben Affleck directed film, Live by Night.[17][18]

Accolades

For the 57th Grammy Awards, "Take Me to Church", written by Hozier himself, received a nomination on the category Song of the Year. Jessica Goodman and Ryan Kistobak of The Huffington Post included the album on their list of 2014's best releases.[19]

Commercial performance

As of January 2016, the album has sold a total of 808,000 copies in the United States.[20] It has sold 90,000 copies in Hozier's home country of Ireland.[21]

The album debuted at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 8,800 copies in its first week.[22]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Andrew Hozier-Byrne, except "Someone New" written by Hozier-Byrne and Sallay Matu Garnett

No.TitleLength
1."Take Me to Church"4:02
2."Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene"3:39
3."Jackie and Wilson"3:43
4."Someone New"3:42
5."To Be Alone"5:23
6."From Eden"4:43
7."In a Week" (featuring Karen Cowley)5:18
8."Sedated"3:27
9."Work Song"3:49
10."Like Real People Do"3:18
11."It Will Come Back"4:37
12."Foreigner's God"3:45
13."Cherry Wine" (Live)4:00
Total length:53:26
Deluxe version (disc 2)
No.TitleLength
1."In the Woods Somewhere"5:31
2."Run"4:14
3."Arsonist's Lullabye"4:26
4."My Love Will Never Die"3:55
iTunes Festival Deluxe Edition (disc 3)
No.TitleLength
1."Like Real People Do (Live at iTunes Festival, London / 2014)"3:22
2."Angel of Small Death & the Codeine Scene (Live at iTunes Festival, London / 2014)"3:38
3."Jackie and Wilson (Live at iTunes Festival, London / 2014)"3:38
4."To Be Alone (Live at iTunes Festival, London / 2014)"5:33
5."Someone New (Live at iTunes Festival, London / 2014)"4:23
6."Work Song (Live at iTunes Festival, London / 2014)"4:02
Target-only Exclusive Edition (disc 2)
No.TitleLength
1."Problem/Regulate (BBC Live Version)"3:34
2."Illinois Blues (BBC Live Version)" 
3."Whole Lotta Love (BBC Live Version)" 
4."Do I Wanna Know? (BBC Live Version)" 
5."Lay Me Down (BBC Live Version)"3:36

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[65] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[66] Platinum 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[67] Platinum 80,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[68] Gold 0^
Germany (BVMI)[69] Gold 100,000‡
Ireland — 90,000[21]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[70] Gold 7,500^
Poland (ZPAV)[71] Platinum 0‡
Sweden (GLF)[72] Gold 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[73] Platinum 458,000*
United States (RIAA)[74] Platinum 808,000[20]
Summaries
Worldwide (IFPI) — 1,800,000 

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Label Format
Ireland[75] 19 September 2014
United Kingdom[8] 6 October 2014
United States[76] 14 October 2014

References

  1. ^ a b c Monger, Timothy. "Hozier - Hozier". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Simon (6 October 2014). "Hozier - Hozier". Clash. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Dolan, Jon (21 October 2014). "Hozier's New Album: Hozier". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Brown, Helen (6 October 2014). "Hozier, Hozier, review: 'glorious and uplifting'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  5. ^ a b Bedian, Knar. "Bluesing in the Red Room". Sound of Boston.
  6. ^ "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Stefan Kyriazis. "Game of Thrones Natalie Dormer in Hozier video Someone New - Music - Entertainment - Daily Express". Express.co.uk.
  8. ^ a b "Hozier Store". hozier.com. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Reviews for Hozier by Hozier". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  10. ^ H. Green, Thomas (30 September 2014). "CD: Hozier – Hozier". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  11. ^ Zaleski, Annie (7 October 2014). "Review: Irish singer-songwriter Hozier crafts a solid, bluesy debut". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  12. ^ "Albums: Oct. 10, 2014". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  13. ^ Herd, Mackenzie (7 October 2014). "Hozier – Hozier". Exclaim!. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  14. ^ Boyd, Brian (19 September 2014). "Album Choice – Hozier: Hozier (Review)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  15. ^ Dunne, Steven (23 September 2014). "Hozier – Hozier". State. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  16. ^ Królak, Sergiusz (2 January 2015). "Recenzja: Hozier "Hozier"". JazzSoul.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  17. ^ Live by Night at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  18. ^ "Hozier lends voice to Affleck's Irish mobster movie" Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  19. ^ Goodman; Kristobak, Jessica; Ryan (15 December 2014). "The 23 Best Albums of 2014". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  21. ^ a b "Hozier dethrones James Bay to reclaim Irish No 1". RTÉ. April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
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  41. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Hozier – Hozier". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
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  43. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Hozier – Hozier". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
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  47. ^ "Hozier Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
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  49. ^ "Hozier Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
  50. ^ "Hozier Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  51. ^ "Hozier Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
  52. ^ "IRMA - best of albums". irma.ie.
  53. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  54. ^ "Alternative Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 16 January 2015. (subscription required)
  55. ^ "Folk Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard.
  56. ^ "Top Rock Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard.
  57. ^ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  58. ^ http://www.irma.ie/#verticalTab2
  59. ^ "Classifiche "Top of the Music" 2015 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digitali" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  60. ^ "The Official NZ Music Charts - End of Year Charts 2015".
  61. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2015".
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  63. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
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  65. ^ Ryan, Gavin (10 October 2015). "ARIA Albums: Triple J's 'Like a Version 11' Stops Cold Chisel From Debuting At No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
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  67. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Hozier – Hozier". Music Canada. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  68. ^ "Danish album certifications – Hozier – Hozier". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 25 February 2015. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2016 to obtain certification.
  69. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Hozier; 'Hozier')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  70. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Hozier – Hozier". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
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  74. ^ "American album certifications – Hozier – Hozier". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
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  76. ^ "Hozier by Hozier". iTunes (US). Retrieved 1 November 2014.
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