Hello!!! Yes it’s been multiple months since I’ve posted, but what better incentive to return than new music from my Forest King?? I’ll drop my Aquaman review in late March when it hits streaming, and I’ve got an exciting classic literature project in the works. But back to the present. All of the aforementioned songs were released less than 18 hours ago.

The exclamation point is in the official title. I began this blog post at 11:45pm, having stayed up to an ungodly hour just to usher in this new era. A few of these songs were released on his EP Nina Cried Power, so I’m skipping over those and analyzing the new tracks.

• Talk-Hozier shared an acoustic snippet of this earlier today and it instantly caught my attention. It’s a sultry, slow song about giving a good first impression and not giving away desires. If there was going to be a successor to Work Song, this one would have my vote for the slow captivating melody and (raunchy but) enticing lyrics
• Sunlight-Ok to be honest, the lyrics don’t make total sense to me yet, but it’s the classic gospel/blues/folk sound of Hozier and it’s a good song. He compares the love of a woman to sunlight and it’s a catchy, pretty song.
• Would That I-This is a musically deceptive song; it starts out slow and then the beat drops. It seems to be about the fear/joy of slowly falling love after many losses. Hozier is basically screaming the whole chorus and it’s beautiful.
• To Noise Making (Sing)-On another note from the deep, sultry notes, this one is an upbeat ode to the pure joy of self-expression, a joy I know well.
• As It Was-This song is a bit darker. The lyrics at first hint at his discovery of his lover’s infidelity, but the cheating could be metaphorical.
• No Plan-This one is more upbeat and I actually like his darker songs. But the guitar on this is hard-hitting and head-banging. The contrast between the heavy music and laissez-faire lyrics is noticeable. It’s sort of about knowing a love is futile, but enjoying the ride anyway.
• Nobody-The real charm of this song is the falsetto note at 1:12, but overall this is a light folk ditty about how all the adventure and fun in the world can’t compare to the love of that one person…..😊😊😊 one day

Overall the album dips in and out of a few different genres and lots of different themes with the grit and grace Hozier always has. My favorites are “Talk” and “To Noise Making (Sing)”, although every song is by turns nihilistic and joyful. 10/10 for the pure fact of Hozier’s return, but also the interesting lyrics and cool guitar tracks.

BONUS: Sucker-Jonas Brothers-

You didn’t think I was going to leave this unnoticed, did you? I’ve been waiting a full 10 years for this day-longer than the MCR fans. 😊😊 It’s a very catchy beat, just catch me jamming out to this in my college cafeteria. The lyrics are sweet but they get kinda repetitive around the third chorus. Joe takes the lower harmony while Nick appears to take the lead, and Kevin still seems content to stay on guitar in the back. Overall, decent rebirth, 8/10.

This has been an exciting day in music for me, and I’ve got some cool new literary works in progress so stay tuned! I will catch you on the flip side.