It is high time to discuss the brilliance that is “Unreal Unearth”, Hozier’s third studio album released just last month.
The 16 track concept album compares Hozier’s heartbreak to the descent through the nine circles of Hell and the ascent as depicted in “Dante’s Inferno”.
Dante’s circles of Hell are: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery.
Starting off with the descent, “De Selby(Part 1)” and “De Selby(Part 2)” explore a connection to one’s self and one’s connection to others.
The outro to “De Selby(Part 1)” translates from Gaeilge to a lovely message: “You’re all bright ease. But you come on like night. Entangled; Together, transformed. You’re all bright ease. But you come on like night. Art is a transformation. It is a dark art” as noted by the Genius analysis.
“De Selby(Part 2)” carries on with this theme, expanding upon the idea of becoming one with someone. The song emphasizes how romantic connection can lead to emotional liberation. It also touches on the darkness that can come with these connections.
“First Time” represents the first circle, limbo: the place for those who did not live in sin-but did not know a God. It is not a place of torment, but it is also not a place comparable to Heaven. Similarly, the song insinuates that Hozier’s lover invokes this kind of feeling in him, wherein he feels both alive(Heavenly) and dead(Hell).
The following tracks “Francesca” and “I, Carrion(Icarian)” reference the second circle, lust. As implied by its name, this circle is the destination for those controlled by their hormones.
“Francesca” depicts what is quite literally an unshakable love. “Dante’s Inferno” features two lovers, Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Ramini, who had an affair that led to their deaths. The parallel to this affair emphasizes the idea that love is worth eternal damnation, seen in the lyrics “If someone asked me at the end, I’d tell them put me back in it. Darling I’d go through it again”.
“I, Carrion(Icarian)” transforms the hurricane that is “Francesca” into simply accepting a wind that sweeps you around in your love. The lullaby-esque song focuses on the story of Icarus, noting that he was so enamored by the sun that he was completely unaware that he had died. Hozier’s lyricism compares the treacherous journey to falling in love, the excitement of flight being falling in love and the unknowing death to knowing that it could all end.
For gluttony, Hozier presents “Eat Your Young”. The heavily political song may be alluding to the infamous satire “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift. “Eat Your Young” shames the gluttony of high society and highlights the moral implications of it, referencing how the ideal of salvation is thrown into the faces of the less fortunate only to be torn away just as quickly.
“Damage Gets Done” serves as a representation of greed, the lack of self-control and negligence. The song references the thin line between being young and being reckless. It highlights how everyone says those actions are what causes the damage to the earth when in reality it could not be further from true.
The fifth circle, anger, is shown in “Who We Are”. Hozier emphasizes the idea that we come into the world knowing nothing and leave without learning anything. The track also acknowledges the anger that comes with having to accept that life is not inherently good or bad. Nothing is perfect, yet nothing is imperfect, and we must bear that contradiction despite the deep dissatisfaction it brings us.
The next circle, heresy, is reserved for those who have opinions that contradict the teachings of major religions, as portrayed by “Son of Nyx” and “All Things End”.
The instrumental “Son of Nyx” serves not only as a personal tribute to bass player Alex Ryan’s late father Nick Ryan, but also as a representation of stepping towards the light. Ironically, the circle that is designated for those who go against popular beliefs is the circle that pushes both Dante and the listener into their ascent.
“All Things End” references the ephemerality of life; nothing is permanent, yet we live in a blissful delusion that everything and everyone we love will be with us forever. While the song is not as morbid as it seems, it does inspire the listener to live life to the fullest and hold on to their loved ones in the process.
The song is a plea to the listeners to hear Hozier’s message that everything is finite, placing it in the sixth circle of heresy.
“To Someone From A Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe)” and “Butchered Tongue” pull the listeners into the seventh circle of violence. “To Someone From A Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe)” reflects on the violence of love rather than physical harm. The violence of having a love so encompassing that the sudden loss of it causes life to be violently flipped, noting that loving too recklessly is harmful to yourself and encouraging the listener to remember that notion.
However, “Butchered Tongue” does depict physical violence. A deeply historical and political song, it touches upon the loss of many languages(including the Irish language, Gaeilge) as a result of colonization. The song focuses on those who commit violence against others, or in this case, the great lengths the British went to prevent the Irish people from speaking their native tongue. The violence of prohibiting what makes a culture distinct places this song in the heart of the seventh circle.
The eighth circle, fraud, is represented by “Anything But” and “Abstract(Psychopomp)”. While “Anything But” appears to be a love song, it is truly about a lover who wishes to distance themselves from their partner. It can be placed in the circle of fraud because what appear to be tender, loving phrases are simply jokes.
“Abstract(Psychopomp)” captures a moment of compassion that Hozier witnessed, when he watched a stranger run into the road to hold a dying animal in their arms. This song is a depiction of a psychopomp, a conductor of souls similar to the idea of the Grim Reaper, a figure to guide the deceased into the afterlife. It pulls into the circle’s aspect of change, but also a fear of being untrue to oneself(a fraud).
The final circle, treachery, is portrayed in “Unknown/Nth”. The hauntingly beautiful song touches on the emotional distance of Hozier’s relationship, and the treachery of being unknown by your most intimate partner. The cold tone of the song and Hozier’s lyrical despair perfectly match the frozen climate that the sinners in the ninth circle are condemned to. It implies that we are no angels, and we will hurt someone else despite our best attempts not to.
The final song, “First Light”, depicts the listener’s ascent. A refreshingly hopeful song, “First Light” guides the listener into a new reality. They have seen Hell and been irreversibly changed by it, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. It shifts from the exploration of darkness in “De Selby(Part 1)” to an exploration of lightness, a sense of reconciliation pulling the listener out of the Hell Hozier had immersed them in throughout the album’s 62 minute runtime.
The genius of Hozier’s concept album is clear in his symbolism, transporting the listener into the world Hozier created through his distinctive poetic references. Hozier shows them, in a new way, the same journey that Virgil guides Dante on.