A week after teasing the release of possible new material, Hozier has surprise dropped the Unheard EP, comprising songs that didn’t make his recent Unreal Unearth album.
The Irish singer has unveiled four new songs, Too Sweet, Empire Now, Fare Well, and Wildflower And Barley, the latter starring Canadian singer and activist Allison Russell.
“It’s my pleasure to announce the release of more work from the album sessions which could not make the original release,” Hozier said about the release on Instagram.
He continued, “These are songs that might’ve made it to the circles of gluttony, limbo, violence and the outward ‘ascent’ respectively but could not for different reasons. I’m very glad I’ll get to share them with you.”
You can listen to the Unheard EP below.
Hozier recently teased more music from the Unreal Unearth sessions, posting a video of himself drawing in a notebook and announcing that the new EP was coming.
Unreal Unearth was released last August and landed at #13 on the ARIA Albums Chart, #3 in the US, and #1 in Ireland. It also gave Hozier his first UK #1 album.
On the challenges of recording music post-pandemic stage of COVID-19 and letting go of songs he wrote in March 2020, Hozier told The Music’s Carley Hall in an interview, “I was hit with a few challenges in that time and in that solitude, and there was probably a time where I thought I’d never write another song, to be honest.
“But it definitely allowed me the time and afforded me the opportunity to sit, and assess my relationship with my own work and assess my relationship with the act of making music and creating what it means to me and what it offers me.”
Hozier is returning to Australia this November after a five-year absence, with demand to see the Take Me To Church singer leading to a second show at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl. With the addition of the new Melbourne show, Hozier will now perform eight concerts in Australia.
Tickets to all Hozier shows are on sale now via the Live Nation Australia website. The singer will be joined by special guest Joy Oladokun.
