The year is 2014: 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai wins the Nobel Peace Prize for her work against the suppression of women & children in Pakistan, the term ‘on-fleek’ is coined by a Chicago teen (later becoming a key word in the vocabularies of other teens across the country), and students like I would have been 7-8 years old in 1st grade. With the coming of every year, new songs are able to construct a soundtrack that will help people remember the memories that came before them; 2014 was no different. The year became highlighted by a foreign voice, completely new to American ears, with Hozier’s release of his self-titled debut album ‘Hozier’.

The eponymous album of Irish singer Hozier debuted in U.S. markets on September 19th, 2014; here’s a detailed 10th-anniversary guide for listeners prepared to travel through Hozier by Hozier.

The album garnered numerical recognition and cultural acclaim in the United States and international markets when it was released 10 years ago, eventually resulting in a fruitful 10-year career for the artist born and raised in the countryside of the Republic of Ireland. Andrew ‘Hozier’-Byrne (b. 1990) uses his debut album to thoroughly reference the impact of the African American Blues and Soul movements on his childhood, and his relationship with God and the Church.

The album opens with ‘Take Me to Church’: notoriously known for introducing western markets to the name of ‘Hozier’, and almost garnering the artist the title of a ‘one-hit-wonder’. The single opens the album with biblical references towards sexual and religious acceptance; a common theme throughout other songs in the album like ‘From Eden’ which refers to sexual temptation and Hozier’s struggle with Christian beliefs, and ‘Foreigner’s God’ which opens doors to discussion about the English occupation of Ireland and the forced confirmation of Irish citizens to the Anglican church.

Thanks to the opening single, the album was nominated at the 57th Grammy Awards (2015) for Song of the Year and has been certified platinum 4 times in the United States, amongst other musical accolades. The album also won ‘Top Rock Song’ at the Billboard Music Awards in 2015, after ‘Take Me to Church’ peaked in the 2nd position in December of 2014.

While Hozier has developed his sound with hints r&b and notes of gospel with recent releases, Hozier (with a runtime of 53:26) caters more to an indie rock & blues sound. The album’s ‘To Be Alone’, ‘It Will Come Back’, and ‘Jackie and Wilson’ utilize bridges filled with brassy drums and cello-filled outros; the latter track being a reference to Hozier’s upbringing amongst a blues sound filled with artists like Jackie Wilson, B.B. King, and Junior Kimbrough (who was sampled on ‘To Be Alone’). The soul & blues movement transposed outside the United States market all the way to Ireland, a movement listeners can thank for the majority of Hozier’s sound. 

In my opinion, the thematic presence throughout the album is beautifully done; a consistency in theme viewers may compare to Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance’ (2022) and Arctic Monkeys’ ‘AM’. One of the few lyrical themes Hozier used throughout the album is religious guilt and sexual freedom. This theme is most perfectly represented in lyrics like “I slithered here from Eden, Just to hide outside your door” (‘From Eden’), which is a testament to romantic temptation while struggling with roots in your faith. In ‘Work Song’, Hozier writes “And she put her love down soft and sweet… Heaven and Hell were words to me.”; this lyric refers to the tension between love, lust, and worship. 

On a softer note, ‘Hozier’ includes songs more appealing to pop listeners (Most likely an effort to gain radio play, especially in foreign markets) like ‘Someone New’. The aforementioned track incorporates a catchy (and slightly repetitive) tagline of “I fall in love just a little, oh, a little bit every day with someone new”; a song reminiscent of the folk revival movement that prevailed in the UK in the mid-20th century. The song, unlike many of the other tracks on the album with R&B and soul tones, has a jumpy drumline with the inclusion of a gospel-filled bridge. That same gospel sound is present in the bridge & pre-choruses of other tracks on the album like ‘Take Me to Church’, ‘Sedated’, and ‘Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene’. 

While a notable theme of the album is the rock sounds that remind listeners of prime Sinead O’Connor and The Cranberries, Hozier ends the album with the balladry strings of violins and the choral sounds of background vocals. The final tracks on the album are ‘Cherry Wine (Live)’ and ‘Like Real People Do’; both include melodic guitar chords that in part lull the listener to sleep and finish the album off with a much quieter bang.