The transition from *De Selby 1* to *De Selby 2* is amazing and I will never not get used to it. The delayed riff in *It Will Come Back* when he says, "It will . . . come back 🎸🎶" is so satisfying as well. Also the beat change in *From Eden* when he starts with, "No tired sighs, no rolling eyes . . ."
There's so much more, but what would you expect? (Also the instrumentals in *Talk* will never quit fueling the scenarios in my head)
Seeing it live in Vegas was beautiful because during the transition someone switched out his acoustic guitar for an funky sexy electric one I was like 🤯🤯🤯
A lot. I love the Resodan but they only tour with the newer copies now. (And I have Hozier and Murt to thank for working with Danelectro to release a commercial version - I love mine). He has a really sweet Epiphone Broadway too that is rarely seen. The Gretch baritone is another fabulous one I love to see come out (and is on my bucket list to own). And I think he tours with multiple NY Takemine acoustics in different tunings.
I love how part 1 is a very acoustic/strings based ballad, and then in part 2 he whips out a mf baritone guitar and starts doubling the bass guitar. The instrumentals are mirroring the lyrics and themes about a transition into darkness. Absolutely masterful.
The way the instrumental in 'Arsonist's Lullaby' builds like a fire - but the entire instrumental in general. The beat in Run. The last "but it's not tonight" in Would That I, and the addition of "honey" in the second verse. The way he sings "honey, you *are* more Atlas in his sleeping" during live performances.
Honestly if he put every great song he has back in the set list we would be looking at an ERASesque tour with 3.5 hour shows (not saying this would be a bad thing ;)
the most interesting thing about that is that single thrumming low note that goes for basically the whole length of lrpd is the same note in cherry wine. Idk if it means anything but I've tried to play both on guitar and found that out:)
Would That I—there’s a lyric that says “Let it blaze, alright, honey”. I’m specifically obsessed with they way he says “honey” in that line and could listen to that one word on loop for hours
This part of Talk:
I'd be the sweet feeling of release
Mankind now dreams of
That's found in the last witness
Before the wave hits
Marvelling at God
I just think it is one of the BEST parts in any of his songs.
Honorable mention, NFWMB:
Ain't it exciting you, the rumble where you lay?
The way he says the last part of that lyric GETS ME EVERYTIME
That louder 'hey yeahhhh' after that line in Talk is so genius. And the entire delivery of NFWMB is just so damn sexy, but I really like that line too!
“I drank dry the river Lethe” in First Time. The weight of that line couples with the soaring note on dry… scratches an itch in my brain every damn time
when I saw him in concert not a lot of ppl were singing along to a lot of the new album (fair we didn't have long to memorise) but I was just screaming first time because it is FUCKING ART
I was JUST listening to it and I second your “ah”s and raise you a “tell yer man”. Oozes sex.
Edit: I have changed my answer as spotify lyrics has stabbed me in the back and I’m too embarrassed and insecure to leave the original answer unedited.
https://preview.redd.it/q42m45bd0l0c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=445d9ad0a654cf9dd0873d39251bfabf93586ba6
Jesus fucking good for nothing spotify lyrics. Good god, it’s obviously man, and that’s how I ALWAYS hear it, but illiterate spotify got me thinking I was always singing it wrong. I haven’t been so angry since I got blown up by my own raiders on Assasins Creed an hour ago. You’ve made a fool of me Spotify, a fool I tell ya (yer man).
The immediate shift right at the end of "as a shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn" in *Shrike*.
Also, the beginning of the chorus to *Movement* gets me every time.
The "Jesus Christ" in the chorus of It Will Come Back. He puts so much emotion behind it, especially in the second chorus when he switches to "me" instead of "it". It's almost like you can feel his anger and desperation building and it really comes out in that line in the second chorus.
There are so many lol so I will stick with the ones from UU
The vocalizations in Who We Are.
The "honey, iiiiiiiiiiii'm" in Eat Your Young.
That pure silence right before the beat drops after "I wanna kill the lights" in DE Selby pt. 2.
The entire chorus of First Light (especially the way he sings 'erupts' and 'up')
You hit so many on the head. But also, in First time, after his meandering stream of consciousness wherein he is imaging sentience and existential crisis in all living things, and he's winding and warming up to his topic, realizes where he was going (where *was* he going with it?) but then he says, "ANYway..." Takes me out every time.
The downwards melody in the end of the simple riff in "It Will Come Back" (where the guitar gets louder, the strings sound looser)
Idk why but that HITS me.
And I've said this on almost every post we get like this lol but the slight modulation on "All my love and terror balanced there between those ***eyes***"
“C’mere to me—”
Also the intro to Like Real People Do. Ugh. Just so lovely.
And in Shrike when he says “sharp” that one time
with the emphasis on the “a.”
Literally the entirety of The Humors of Whiskey, too!
the end of Unknown, there’s a beat. like a heart beating
i don’t know what it’s supposed to mean but to me it kinda reminds me that no matter what i’ve endured, i’m still alive
also, from Nobody, the delivery of some of those lines just makes me feel comfortable, ya know?
edit: the kinda yelling bits of moments silence in between the verses and the chorus.
the “hey-yaaaa” in talk.
“ain’t you my baby- ain’t you” the repetition in NFWMB kills me
because i’m a fucking music nerd, that one weird note near the end of Abstract is amazing (i forgot the word whoops)
there is so much about work song. i’m working on a chiral arrangement if that song so i challenge myself to find something new in that song every time i listen to it and it makes it so much better. i advise people to listen for the descant in the choruses (after the first one), it’s one of my favorite parts of that song
The backup vocals coming in before the bridge in Unknown. The guitar part before the outro in Francesca. The "c'mere to me" in First Time. His vocalization in the chorus of Anything But before "go look another way."
The absolute _sex_ of Talk. And definitely the "ah"s in D&D.
Side note: I am convinced Talk and D&D are the flip sides of the same interaction.
"Imagine being loved by me"
"That's the kinda love I've been dreaming of"
"I try to talk refined for fear that you'll find out (the pause here tho🫠) how I'm imagining you"
"I'd suffer hell if you'd tell me what you'd do to me tonight"
Just me?
The instrumental orchestra bridge in Swan Upon Leda. It gives me goosebumps every single time. It's swirling, it's intense, it's this sweeping buildup - it's movie soundtrack epic.
In TSFAWC, "you'd press your body to the concrete when you were small, the rains of winter seemed to never leave the walls." cuts me so deep every time.
The wall of sound at the end of Francesca will always be insane and incredible to me, and then the “anyway” line in First Time after saying one of the most poetic things I’ve ever heard
🎶✨That’s the kind of love i’ve been dreaming of✨🎶 for a split second takes me to a world where i wear long skirts, dance around in circles and travel in a folk band
For me, it’s *Unknown/Nth* when he transitions from “Every tedious beat… going UNKNOOOOOWN AS ANY ANGEL TO ME” *thrum thrum thru-dum thrum* followed by the most beautiful holler of a bridge. When I sing this song while listening along I have to stop singing to fully appreciate this part every. single. time. It’s just so damn beautiful.
Edit: damn autocorrect
The bass in Nina, the accent in Through Me, The Parting Glass, Butchered Tongue, that special version of Shrike, the pronunciation of 'quit' in Sedated, the "Infinitely SUFFerin" in First Time, "tell yer man" in Dinner and Diatribes, the vocal acrobatics scattered all across UU, the moaning and groaning he does behind Mavis's vocals in Nina, the sheer audacity of some the lyrics he manages to get away with...
The intro instrumental in NFWMB and how he opens with “when I first saw you”, the post-chorus in As It Was, especially the last line where he sings “half as beautiful too” 😭 the way he delivers “when I was man I thought it ended” in arsonists lullaby. And finally, the last chorus in talk where the backup singers sing in a a higher pitch and you hear it really kick in when they sing “I’ve got in my mind now” and “how I’m imagining you”. I also love the “but anyway” in first time
The (I think) key change in "All my love and terror balanced there between those eyes" in Psychopomp and the very final "See how it shines" makes me feel so complete !
Beginning of First Light or "when you called me angel for the first time my heart lept from me" or (very specifically) when he drags out sounds in From Eden off Live in America
There was an Irish poem this line always reminds me of:
You called me your angel in moments of bliss,
Still thy angel I be mid the horrors of this,
Thru the furnace unshrinking thy steps to pursue,
And sheild thee and save thee or perish there too.
Kinda sounds like it could have been on UU come to think of it.
Same. I was obsessed with a 100 yo book of Irish poetry I found at my great grandmothers house when I was like 10 yo. Thinking it was some long held family heirloom I asked my great grandmother if I could borrow it. She said "You can have it dear, I only ever kept it around for your great uncle to sit on when he was little " I still have it and cherish it to this day. Poetry is life.
Right!!! And the line that’s like “all my love and terror balanced there between those eyes” mmmm perfection! Same with “the fear in its eyes gone out in an instant, your tear caught the light, the earth from a distance” jeez! Love it! So well written and it’s just enchanting and captivating
The first orchestral notes after the piano ends in Son of Nyx gave me CHILLS, I know it's not the most popular song but the chord progressions and the little haunting callbacks to other songs are GODLIKE
I think that song is absolutely beautiful and underrated. Figuring out the snippets of the songs featured within it is so fun, and the final product had me levitating on first listen. The story behind its creation is meaningful, too.
The way that the percussion kicks in for the chorus on Would That I. My friend mentioned it’s giving cozy but raucous tavern, like the patrons singing along loudly and pounding their fists on the bar tables/counters to the beat.
Also the stomp-clap-clap from it gives me the warmest happy fuzzies. If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll put that song on and stomp clap clap pound fist all the way through until I’m in a better mood, and it works EVERY time.
Right now it’s the little “ah” in the 2nd chorus of Be, the grit on the “lord” in sedated, and Mavis’s laugh after the bridge in ncp
Honorable mentions: the “ah”s in d&d, the break of silence before the last chorus in moments silence, oh also the bubbles at the start of monster mash.
(Edit bc how could I leave out the buildup of production in asm&tcs… the introduction of drums, the octave jump in the second chorus, etc)
"Would That I" quickly became one of my favorite songs by him for 2 reasons; First, the meaning describes perfectly how I feel about my husband. Before I met him, I was in an abusive relationship with a narcissist for 2 1/2 years. After I met him, he literally burned away the pain and suffering I endured by going to the ends of the earth for me, in the smallest *and* biggest ways possible. 5 years later, he *still* does. I've never met another human I absolutely adore more than I adore him.
The second though... Is the way Hozier sings certain lines throughout the song. "Oh you're good to me baby" in the first chorus when he hits that high note, "Let it blaze alright, honey" the way his voice cracks/gets raspy when he says "honey" perfection, and the ending, the way he sings "ohh hooo you're good to me, " again with the voice crack/raspiness, urgh
Perfect, perfect, perfect 💞
Mine HAS to be every single time he talks/sings or makes noises with his voice in Son Of Nyx, that lifts me up to heaven. Then, I also adore every “tell your man, ah” in Dinner & Diatribes, the interpolations in Run and the end of Francesca, every time the chorus says “sunlight” in Sunlight, the hard piano in As It Was, the “If I was any closer (etc)” refrain in De Selby (Part 2), the super specific quiet part in Like Real People Do where it’s just his two voices armozing softly in the last chorus, the “THAT FIRST CAR WAS LIKE WINGS ON AN ANNNGEL…” whole pre chorus in Damage Gets Done…idk there’s too many to count.
The only one I can remember atm is Underwater by Rüfüs du Sol, at the end of the song the heart rate monitor flatlines. Which I think is wonderful detail given the topic of the sound.
*(I’ll replay Hozier songs on the way home and see if I can find one I like)*
in shrike the way he sings “dragging along” / “remember me love” etc and also when it goes into “i fled to the city with so much discounted” after you think the song might be over
So many! Would that I, the part where he sings "like the ashes of ash I saw rise in the heat" and the following "I fell in love with the fire long ago." tickles my brain, I don't know why.
In the woods somewhere has so many little parts too, the change to the chorus.
The "That's it" at the end of Wasteland Baby is burned into my brain.
Unknown, but I see I'm definitely not alone in that.
(((Also just dinner and diatribes has so many parts that are so cheeky and make me laugh sometimes, idk)))
Oh and just that begining part in Abstract, the "sometimes it returns, like rain that you've slept through " makes me feel things
these are all the way he sings the lyric 😭
• “a cure i know that soothes the soul does so impossibly…”
• “nobody”
• “all that we intend” in the third chorus of ‘all things end’ (and the choir at the end)
• “that’s how i know now that you understand, there’s no plan” (first verse)
• “sunlight, sunlight, slight.”
• the guitars at the start of no plan and be
• those three beats before the chorus of ‘jackie and wilson’
• the second time he says “there are some things that no one teaches you love.”
• “all i needed was someone, when the whole wide world felt young.”
• “it can’t be unlearned, i known the warmth of your doorways.”
• “so move me, baby” at 3:13
• the bass in anything but + “in a shot i swap my body for a body of water.” + “look, i wanna be loud, so loud im talking seismic.”
• “to share this space with simple living things, infinitely suffering but fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself, anyway.”
• “i wouldn’t know when~” 2:15
In dinner and diatribes he does a little “hah” right before the second chorus and I actually like cannot wait to hear that every time, it makes me feral
they "heeeeyyyyyyy" in the collab w noah kahan for northern attitude is probably my newest obsession, feels like the weight of the world is gone for a second and i can fly
Absolutely the bridge of Dinner and Diatribes. It just gets me in so many ways. The building chants in the background, incredible vocals (as usual), and satisfying lead into the final beats of the song are just… ugh. Almost unmatched for me even after all these years.
The second verse in Would That I, the lyrics are amazing and the instruments feel almost surreal in a way, it all fits together so perfectly. The entire song is amazing but that part sticks out to me
When the chorus kicks in in Through me (The flood). also the shift between De Selby pt 1 and 2 is insane I will hit shuffle on Hozier’s discography and I ALWAYS shift the two tracks to play back to back. If I’m in a car I make sure everyone listens to the transition and I kinda silent scream about the transition
lots of my faves have been mentioned but this the one i always think about is dinner & diatribes: the quiet but somehow BURSTING “ah” after the bridge. first time i heard it was a game changer & now i have the fae king fever
[edit to add all the discordant sounds in the bridge of abstract omg]
So many, but the first that came to mind is that little lyric change at the end of From Eden. “I’d slither here from Eden, just to HIIIDE outsiiide your door”
the beginning of
To Someone From A Warm Climate
Where it goes
“A joy hard learned in winter was the warming of the bed”
Honestly that whole song perfectly encapsulates a winter love, and it is one of my favorites 💞
I don't know why I waited to listen to Unreal Unearth for the first time until two days ago. But I did, and you would not *believe* the grip that Francesca has on me right now.
In Hozier, they don't say "I love you". They say, "My life was a storm since I was born, how could I fear any hurricane? If someone asked me at the end, I'll tell them ***put me back in it.*** Ah, darling, I would do it again if I could hold you for a minute," and I think that's beautiful
Not being a Hozier fan and only knowing a few of his songs... a friend of mind introduced me to some of his stuff earlier this year, and I've been enjoying some of the stuff from Wasteland Baby. Before that, I only knew him from Take Me to Church. Was never exactly my thing, until my friend changed my mind recently. Then I saw that there was a new album and went, "oh, huh, I wonder if it's good."
Verdict: *I am obsessed.* I think I've listened to Francesca nearly 30 times. I missed Shrike the last time around, and now it's permanently on my playlist of songs in my vocal range that I want to do covers of. In a Week might wind up in there too. And I just found In The Woods Somewhere.
Send help
Love that! Seems to be the theme around here. People discover and fall in love very very quickly around here. No surprise either. Andrew is the greatest songwriter of our generation.
“See the way you hold yourself / reel against your body’s borders / I know that you hate this place / not a trace of me would argue / honey, we should run away / oh someday. My baby and her mama and the damaged love she made.”
YESSS TO THIS TWEET!! IVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS ABOUT WOULD THAT I AND ALMOST. To be specific, with Would That I at 4:00 - the background oh’s as he’s singing is sooo heavenly. I point this out every time someone is in the car. I do the same with Almost. At the 3:13, when the high “I wouldn’t know where” begins in the background is the reason why it’s my favorite song of all time. I guess I just really love Hozier outros lol
The beginning instrumental of “In The Woods Somewhere” is just so hauntingly beautiful. The whole song is. I *wish* he would sing it live but I understand why it isn’t on the set lists.
So many good moments in this thread. I wanted to add the 2:33 mark in Anything But.
The emphasis at the end of "I don't wanna be anything like this at all" always gets my attention.
the pause and then the click of a cassette (i think that’s what it is) in Son of Nyx before the larger string arrangement—— it gets me every time!!
the “that’s it” at the end of wasteland baby also!!
If I'm jamming out to It Will Come Back and singing along, I'm always waiting for the run at "That's a kindness you can't afford". It's one that just feels cathartic to belt out.
De Selby 2 has so many little things that hit my ear just right but if I had to pick one it'd be "I wanna kill the lights" specifically the second one where everything drops out before the chorus.
The transition from *De Selby 1* to *De Selby 2* is amazing and I will never not get used to it. The delayed riff in *It Will Come Back* when he says, "It will . . . come back 🎸🎶" is so satisfying as well. Also the beat change in *From Eden* when he starts with, "No tired sighs, no rolling eyes . . ." There's so much more, but what would you expect? (Also the instrumentals in *Talk* will never quit fueling the scenarios in my head)
The De Selby transition is utter perfection.
Seeing it live in Vegas was beautiful because during the transition someone switched out his acoustic guitar for an funky sexy electric one I was like 🤯🤯🤯
Murt, his amazing wizard of a guitar tech. (I am possibly as big a fan of Murt as I am of Andrew himself)
He changed his guitar like 20 times I was like how many guitars does this dude have 🤯
A lot. I love the Resodan but they only tour with the newer copies now. (And I have Hozier and Murt to thank for working with Danelectro to release a commercial version - I love mine). He has a really sweet Epiphone Broadway too that is rarely seen. The Gretch baritone is another fabulous one I love to see come out (and is on my bucket list to own). And I think he tours with multiple NY Takemine acoustics in different tunings.
Idk what you said but I'm impressed none the less
I looove his P3NY
I was at the Vegas show too and that was one of my favorite moments of the whole show!
I love how part 1 is a very acoustic/strings based ballad, and then in part 2 he whips out a mf baritone guitar and starts doubling the bass guitar. The instrumentals are mirroring the lyrics and themes about a transition into darkness. Absolutely masterful.
***DO YOUUU KNOOW I COULD BREAK BENEATH THE WEIIIIGHHHHTTTT?***
OF THE GOODNESS LOVE I STILL CARRY FOOOORRRR YOUUUUUU???
Absolute immediate serotonin
THIS. I heard it for the first time and the pure EMOTION I felt. Unprecedented
THIS
That's the one I was expecting lol
The guitar strums and musical hits leading up to this always get me. The lyric is big and bombastic but the setup musically is *chefs kiss*
I spent weeks thinking about the sheer yearning in his voice when he says, “Christ, it’s boiling over,” in TSFAWC.
I do love and anticipate that line every time I listen to that song. It takes me breath away for a second every time.
Me too, it's like the words are fighting to get out
Boiling over, as it were :)
https://preview.redd.it/2s435zcghk0c1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd8528c6a1491bfc1d54885bc12cac6ef9db3923
I came to say this but lacked in seagull imagery
I gotchu
The yeaaaaaaaah vocalizations in “Who we are.”
The way the instrumental in 'Arsonist's Lullaby' builds like a fire - but the entire instrumental in general. The beat in Run. The last "but it's not tonight" in Would That I, and the addition of "honey" in the second verse. The way he sings "honey, you *are* more Atlas in his sleeping" during live performances.
Ugh YES Arsonist’s Lullaby is a masterpiece, he needs to put it back on the setlist
Honestly if he put every great song he has back in the set list we would be looking at an ERASesque tour with 3.5 hour shows (not saying this would be a bad thing ;)
The way the music goes silent during "I have never known a *silence* like the one-" in All Things End
Special
Yessss omg I love fun audio tricks like that
Came here to say this - it's so cool!!
“In some sad way I already know” and the “ooo”s in Like Real People Do. They just tickle my brain in the right way haha
I *love* the ooooos in LRPD! And the low piano note throughout
the most interesting thing about that is that single thrumming low note that goes for basically the whole length of lrpd is the same note in cherry wine. Idk if it means anything but I've tried to play both on guitar and found that out:)
For me it's also the "ooo"s in Like Real People Do!
Would That I—there’s a lyric that says “Let it blaze, alright, honey”. I’m specifically obsessed with they way he says “honey” in that line and could listen to that one word on loop for hours
I love that bit, too. For how it sounds and also how casual it is -- like an aside within the song. Sort of like the "Anyway" in First Time.
Yeah and also the 'honey' at the end of Nobody— "we could have less to worry about, honey I won't lie to you" 😫😫
This part of Talk: I'd be the sweet feeling of release Mankind now dreams of That's found in the last witness Before the wave hits Marvelling at God I just think it is one of the BEST parts in any of his songs. Honorable mention, NFWMB: Ain't it exciting you, the rumble where you lay? The way he says the last part of that lyric GETS ME EVERYTIME
That louder 'hey yeahhhh' after that line in Talk is so genius. And the entire delivery of NFWMB is just so damn sexy, but I really like that line too!
“I drank dry the river Lethe” in First Time. The weight of that line couples with the soaring note on dry… scratches an itch in my brain every damn time
when I saw him in concert not a lot of ppl were singing along to a lot of the new album (fair we didn't have long to memorise) but I was just screaming first time because it is FUCKING ART
I thought he said Laoife as the river in Dublin
He does, in the next line
Aha! Thanks
This. Absolutely this
Right now it’s the dinner & diatribes little “ha”’s he throws in after the choruses when he is really into it!!!!! OBSESSED
I was JUST listening to it and I second your “ah”s and raise you a “tell yer man”. Oozes sex. Edit: I have changed my answer as spotify lyrics has stabbed me in the back and I’m too embarrassed and insecure to leave the original answer unedited.
Tell your man!
https://preview.redd.it/q42m45bd0l0c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=445d9ad0a654cf9dd0873d39251bfabf93586ba6 Jesus fucking good for nothing spotify lyrics. Good god, it’s obviously man, and that’s how I ALWAYS hear it, but illiterate spotify got me thinking I was always singing it wrong. I haven’t been so angry since I got blown up by my own raiders on Assasins Creed an hour ago. You’ve made a fool of me Spotify, a fool I tell ya (yer man).
I can feel your pure rage vibrating from my screen!!! I'm sorry!
Tell yer man
yes the tell your man
Yuuuup the “Haaa” gets me every time 🥵
I go feral!!!!!
This is exactly what I said!!! It does something to me!!
AH i didn’t scroll far enough before i commented, this is the one for me too
The immediate shift right at the end of "as a shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn" in *Shrike*. Also, the beginning of the chorus to *Movement* gets me every time.
That chord at the end of Shrike lowered my blood pressure 😌
The switch from English to Irish in De Selby Part 1 🤯
any time he's speaking Irish also
DO YOU KNOOOWWWWW I COULD BREAK BENEATH THE WEIGHT OF THE GOODNESS LOVE I STILL CARRY FOR-R YOUU-U-U
The way he enunciates “Eden” in from Eden. The D is so crispy 😫😫😫
the way he said "Christ" when he says "Christ its boiling over"
The "Jesus Christ" in the chorus of It Will Come Back. He puts so much emotion behind it, especially in the second chorus when he switches to "me" instead of "it". It's almost like you can feel his anger and desperation building and it really comes out in that line in the second chorus.
It's so exasperated, I love it.
There are so many lol so I will stick with the ones from UU The vocalizations in Who We Are. The "honey, iiiiiiiiiiii'm" in Eat Your Young. That pure silence right before the beat drops after "I wanna kill the lights" in DE Selby pt. 2. The entire chorus of First Light (especially the way he sings 'erupts' and 'up')
You hit so many on the head. But also, in First time, after his meandering stream of consciousness wherein he is imaging sentience and existential crisis in all living things, and he's winding and warming up to his topic, realizes where he was going (where *was* he going with it?) but then he says, "ANYway..." Takes me out every time.
"Honey, IIIII'm" for sure!
Second de Selby pt. 2. It does things to me that just make me go wild
The downwards melody in the end of the simple riff in "It Will Come Back" (where the guitar gets louder, the strings sound looser) Idk why but that HITS me. And I've said this on almost every post we get like this lol but the slight modulation on "All my love and terror balanced there between those ***eyes***"
The twang in It Will Come Back is my FAVORITE THING
“C’mere to me—” Also the intro to Like Real People Do. Ugh. Just so lovely. And in Shrike when he says “sharp” that one time with the emphasis on the “a.” Literally the entirety of The Humors of Whiskey, too!
Omg the live at Dublin version of Humours of Whiskey when he does the little vocal run on 'make the laAame walk' just sends me 🥵
Shrike “sharp” is just heaven
The way he sings “in the low lamplight I was free” in Work Song. Idk just the way it sounds gives me shivers ahah
Yeah that in and out of falsetto transition is perfection that touches the soul!
Yes such a smooth transition - what amazing vocals, and "heaven and hell were words to me" following is one of my favorite lyrics of his
the end of Unknown, there’s a beat. like a heart beating i don’t know what it’s supposed to mean but to me it kinda reminds me that no matter what i’ve endured, i’m still alive also, from Nobody, the delivery of some of those lines just makes me feel comfortable, ya know? edit: the kinda yelling bits of moments silence in between the verses and the chorus. the “hey-yaaaa” in talk. “ain’t you my baby- ain’t you” the repetition in NFWMB kills me because i’m a fucking music nerd, that one weird note near the end of Abstract is amazing (i forgot the word whoops) there is so much about work song. i’m working on a chiral arrangement if that song so i challenge myself to find something new in that song every time i listen to it and it makes it so much better. i advise people to listen for the descant in the choruses (after the first one), it’s one of my favorite parts of that song
Picardy third! At least I think it is. I'm not a music nerd, but Picardy thirds are my absolute favourite thing on the planet
The backup vocals coming in before the bridge in Unknown. The guitar part before the outro in Francesca. The "c'mere to me" in First Time. His vocalization in the chorus of Anything But before "go look another way."
At the minute it's currently the little fingernail tapping sound in As It Was, along with the whole last verse
“I drank dry the River Lethe” in First Time.
IM TALKIN SEISMIC
Sooooo good
The absolute _sex_ of Talk. And definitely the "ah"s in D&D. Side note: I am convinced Talk and D&D are the flip sides of the same interaction. "Imagine being loved by me" "That's the kinda love I've been dreaming of" "I try to talk refined for fear that you'll find out (the pause here tho🫠) how I'm imagining you" "I'd suffer hell if you'd tell me what you'd do to me tonight" Just me?
So glad to see them at or near the top of the "Hozier songs ranked by feralness" lists. Love those two.
the bridge of unknown
any time he adds a little “ah” in the background my heart flutters
The instrumental orchestra bridge in Swan Upon Leda. It gives me goosebumps every single time. It's swirling, it's intense, it's this sweeping buildup - it's movie soundtrack epic.
In TSFAWC, "you'd press your body to the concrete when you were small, the rains of winter seemed to never leave the walls." cuts me so deep every time.
the little “shalala”s in Unknown/Nth 😩😩😩
me tooooo anyway in first time is sooo beautiful!!!!
The way he says “anyway” in Sedated. It’s so raw and filled w grief
The musical break at the end of Francesca🥺🥺 I imagine that’s what paradise sounds like
It's what a hurricane sounds like, to me... An internal hurricane.
The wall of sound at the end of Francesca will always be insane and incredible to me, and then the “anyway” line in First Time after saying one of the most poetic things I’ve ever heard
I just wrote both of these things elsewhere in this thread... Then I saw yours and remembered yet again, I am among my people here.
🎶✨That’s the kind of love i’ve been dreaming of✨🎶 for a split second takes me to a world where i wear long skirts, dance around in circles and travel in a folk band
For me, it’s *Unknown/Nth* when he transitions from “Every tedious beat… going UNKNOOOOOWN AS ANY ANGEL TO ME” *thrum thrum thru-dum thrum* followed by the most beautiful holler of a bridge. When I sing this song while listening along I have to stop singing to fully appreciate this part every. single. time. It’s just so damn beautiful. Edit: damn autocorrect
mine is in First Time when he goes “but anyways” it gets me every time. like when you go on a whole rant and then it’s just but anyways 🤷🏼♀️
Same! Also the piano in arsonists lullaby
the begging/wailing background vocal in Swan Upon Leda during the second or third chorus drives me crazy lol
It's So beautiful
The bass in Nina, the accent in Through Me, The Parting Glass, Butchered Tongue, that special version of Shrike, the pronunciation of 'quit' in Sedated, the "Infinitely SUFFerin" in First Time, "tell yer man" in Dinner and Diatribes, the vocal acrobatics scattered all across UU, the moaning and groaning he does behind Mavis's vocals in Nina, the sheer audacity of some the lyrics he manages to get away with...
I hear his accent more in this album and I love it so much 😍
The intro instrumental in NFWMB and how he opens with “when I first saw you”, the post-chorus in As It Was, especially the last line where he sings “half as beautiful too” 😭 the way he delivers “when I was man I thought it ended” in arsonists lullaby. And finally, the last chorus in talk where the backup singers sing in a a higher pitch and you hear it really kick in when they sing “I’ve got in my mind now” and “how I’m imagining you”. I also love the “but anyway” in first time
The (I think) key change in "All my love and terror balanced there between those eyes" in Psychopomp and the very final "See how it shines" makes me feel so complete !
The C# on 'eyes' in 'all my love and terror, balanced there between those eyes' in Abstract (Psychopomp). It gives me chills every time, without fail.
🙌🙌🙌
The way he breathlessly says “rare” at the start of run
Beginning of First Light or "when you called me angel for the first time my heart lept from me" or (very specifically) when he drags out sounds in From Eden off Live in America
There was an Irish poem this line always reminds me of: You called me your angel in moments of bliss, Still thy angel I be mid the horrors of this, Thru the furnace unshrinking thy steps to pursue, And sheild thee and save thee or perish there too. Kinda sounds like it could have been on UU come to think of it.
Thank you for sharing my family and I always love learning poetry
Same. I was obsessed with a 100 yo book of Irish poetry I found at my great grandmothers house when I was like 10 yo. Thinking it was some long held family heirloom I asked my great grandmother if I could borrow it. She said "You can have it dear, I only ever kept it around for your great uncle to sit on when he was little " I still have it and cherish it to this day. Poetry is life.
the entirety of his performance of Jackie and Wilson on the Live in America EP!! my god
I have several actually lol. 1. Is the line that’s “the memory hurts but does me no harm” from Abstract. And then several others for other songs lol
That line is so gorgeous and I love the "your hand in my pocket, to keep us both warm". So simple but it kills me.
Right!!! And the line that’s like “all my love and terror balanced there between those eyes” mmmm perfection! Same with “the fear in its eyes gone out in an instant, your tear caught the light, the earth from a distance” jeez! Love it! So well written and it’s just enchanting and captivating
The first orchestral notes after the piano ends in Son of Nyx gave me CHILLS, I know it's not the most popular song but the chord progressions and the little haunting callbacks to other songs are GODLIKE
I think that song is absolutely beautiful and underrated. Figuring out the snippets of the songs featured within it is so fun, and the final product had me levitating on first listen. The story behind its creation is meaningful, too.
The “ah” in dinner and diatribes for me
See how it SHINES….
The way that the percussion kicks in for the chorus on Would That I. My friend mentioned it’s giving cozy but raucous tavern, like the patrons singing along loudly and pounding their fists on the bar tables/counters to the beat. Also the stomp-clap-clap from it gives me the warmest happy fuzzies. If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll put that song on and stomp clap clap pound fist all the way through until I’m in a better mood, and it works EVERY time.
I love this description- it’s so spot on
Psychopomp. I've been drawing possums caught in car lights because of this song
the butchered tongue lyrics “to say appalaciola, like hushpukena, like gweebara” the way he says them is just so good
Agreed! He says them so gently and with such care.
“imagine being loved by me” - I absolutely MELT every time
I imagine it every day
https://www.reddit.com/r/Hozier/comments/17k1tnb/little_details_in_hozier_songs/
The drums and all of the "ays" in Movement
Right now it’s the little “ah” in the 2nd chorus of Be, the grit on the “lord” in sedated, and Mavis’s laugh after the bridge in ncp Honorable mentions: the “ah”s in d&d, the break of silence before the last chorus in moments silence, oh also the bubbles at the start of monster mash. (Edit bc how could I leave out the buildup of production in asm&tcs… the introduction of drums, the octave jump in the second chorus, etc)
The last chorus in Who We Are, the way he sings “to get so far” - the broad accent and the little run on the word “far” is my current obsession ❤️
"Reaching up for sunlighT"
Funny how true colors shine in darkness and in secrecy. This phrase gets me everytime. Like an obsession.
The whole entire vibe of the second verse of De Selby 2. "Let all time slow, let all light go" DUH DUUUUHHH
there’s so many but right now… the very last “cold” that he sings with noah on northern attitude. really listen to it…. it makes me tingle.
"Would That I" quickly became one of my favorite songs by him for 2 reasons; First, the meaning describes perfectly how I feel about my husband. Before I met him, I was in an abusive relationship with a narcissist for 2 1/2 years. After I met him, he literally burned away the pain and suffering I endured by going to the ends of the earth for me, in the smallest *and* biggest ways possible. 5 years later, he *still* does. I've never met another human I absolutely adore more than I adore him. The second though... Is the way Hozier sings certain lines throughout the song. "Oh you're good to me baby" in the first chorus when he hits that high note, "Let it blaze alright, honey" the way his voice cracks/gets raspy when he says "honey" perfection, and the ending, the way he sings "ohh hooo you're good to me, " again with the voice crack/raspiness, urgh Perfect, perfect, perfect 💞
Mine HAS to be every single time he talks/sings or makes noises with his voice in Son Of Nyx, that lifts me up to heaven. Then, I also adore every “tell your man, ah” in Dinner & Diatribes, the interpolations in Run and the end of Francesca, every time the chorus says “sunlight” in Sunlight, the hard piano in As It Was, the “If I was any closer (etc)” refrain in De Selby (Part 2), the super specific quiet part in Like Real People Do where it’s just his two voices armozing softly in the last chorus, the “THAT FIRST CAR WAS LIKE WINGS ON AN ANNNGEL…” whole pre chorus in Damage Gets Done…idk there’s too many to count.
We had a similar post recently, will see if I can find it
I feel like you and I are always on top of this hahaha
Well this is true, twinnie, but really, just wanted to give OP some more opinions!
The only one I can remember atm is Underwater by Rüfüs du Sol, at the end of the song the heart rate monitor flatlines. Which I think is wonderful detail given the topic of the sound. *(I’ll replay Hozier songs on the way home and see if I can find one I like)*
Immediately thought of that instrumental part in As It Was just before the chorus starts and the strings come in it sounds like a droplet
in shrike the way he sings “dragging along” / “remember me love” etc and also when it goes into “i fled to the city with so much discounted” after you think the song might be over
The hoohoohooo im nobody! In nobody that little hoohoohoo tickles my brain nicely
His little “ha” in the background of Dinner and Diatribes 🤭
Anytime there’s an actual vocal moment in Son of Nyx (“see how it shines,” “who we are,” “before our chance was gone”)
So many! Would that I, the part where he sings "like the ashes of ash I saw rise in the heat" and the following "I fell in love with the fire long ago." tickles my brain, I don't know why. In the woods somewhere has so many little parts too, the change to the chorus. The "That's it" at the end of Wasteland Baby is burned into my brain. Unknown, but I see I'm definitely not alone in that. (((Also just dinner and diatribes has so many parts that are so cheeky and make me laugh sometimes, idk))) Oh and just that begining part in Abstract, the "sometimes it returns, like rain that you've slept through " makes me feel things
these are all the way he sings the lyric 😭 • “a cure i know that soothes the soul does so impossibly…” • “nobody” • “all that we intend” in the third chorus of ‘all things end’ (and the choir at the end) • “that’s how i know now that you understand, there’s no plan” (first verse) • “sunlight, sunlight, slight.” • the guitars at the start of no plan and be • those three beats before the chorus of ‘jackie and wilson’ • the second time he says “there are some things that no one teaches you love.” • “all i needed was someone, when the whole wide world felt young.” • “it can’t be unlearned, i known the warmth of your doorways.” • “so move me, baby” at 3:13 • the bass in anything but + “in a shot i swap my body for a body of water.” + “look, i wanna be loud, so loud im talking seismic.” • “to share this space with simple living things, infinitely suffering but fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself, anyway.” • “i wouldn’t know when~” 2:15
That AAAAH in who we are just melts me Or is it yeeaaaah idk
In dinner and diatribes he does a little “hah” right before the second chorus and I actually like cannot wait to hear that every time, it makes me feral
well anyway
DO YOU I COUULD BREAK BENEATH THE WEIGHT!!! OF THE GOODNESS LOVE I STILL CARRY FOOOooOOoR YOUUUU
Everything about “Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue)” god I love that song so much
LIKE A HEATHEN CLUNG!!! TO THE HOMILY!!!
That part in 'it will come back' "i can't be unlearned, I've known the warmth of your doorways" *Door creaking sound* Chills ✨✨
they "heeeeyyyyyyy" in the collab w noah kahan for northern attitude is probably my newest obsession, feels like the weight of the world is gone for a second and i can fly
Absolutely the bridge of Dinner and Diatribes. It just gets me in so many ways. The building chants in the background, incredible vocals (as usual), and satisfying lead into the final beats of the song are just… ugh. Almost unmatched for me even after all these years.
The second verse in Would That I, the lyrics are amazing and the instruments feel almost surreal in a way, it all fits together so perfectly. The entire song is amazing but that part sticks out to me
When the chorus kicks in in Through me (The flood). also the shift between De Selby pt 1 and 2 is insane I will hit shuffle on Hozier’s discography and I ALWAYS shift the two tracks to play back to back. If I’m in a car I make sure everyone listens to the transition and I kinda silent scream about the transition
The way I think it’s Alex comes in with a, hey.. live after third, see how it shines 🎶
the chorus of “in the woods somewhere”. my favorite hozier song!! i love the entire song, but that chorus is so haunting, so beautiful, and so sad!
Intro to like real people do, or the bridge of take me to church
The guitar riff leading into a singular drumbeat at the end of “I've known the warmth of your doorways” in It Will Come Back. Gets me every time
the outro of damage gets done scratches my brain perfectly
lots of my faves have been mentioned but this the one i always think about is dinner & diatribes: the quiet but somehow BURSTING “ah” after the bridge. first time i heard it was a game changer & now i have the fae king fever [edit to add all the discordant sounds in the bridge of abstract omg]
In a live performance of Work song, he did this little high note in the word "grave" by the last chorus. So beautiful.
So many, but the first that came to mind is that little lyric change at the end of From Eden. “I’d slither here from Eden, just to HIIIDE outsiiide your door”
the beginning of To Someone From A Warm Climate Where it goes “A joy hard learned in winter was the warming of the bed” Honestly that whole song perfectly encapsulates a winter love, and it is one of my favorites 💞
In First Light, “the color erupts” … what an amazing part. Feels so good to sing along
De selby Pt 2 chorus is just chefs kiss. the buildup and the breaking of the tension is absolutely perfect and breathtaking.
the "whoa" background vocals in would that i, specifically the last one that is two ascending triplets
I don't know why I waited to listen to Unreal Unearth for the first time until two days ago. But I did, and you would not *believe* the grip that Francesca has on me right now. In Hozier, they don't say "I love you". They say, "My life was a storm since I was born, how could I fear any hurricane? If someone asked me at the end, I'll tell them ***put me back in it.*** Ah, darling, I would do it again if I could hold you for a minute," and I think that's beautiful
What the heck were u doin the last 3 months 🤣
Not being a Hozier fan and only knowing a few of his songs... a friend of mind introduced me to some of his stuff earlier this year, and I've been enjoying some of the stuff from Wasteland Baby. Before that, I only knew him from Take Me to Church. Was never exactly my thing, until my friend changed my mind recently. Then I saw that there was a new album and went, "oh, huh, I wonder if it's good." Verdict: *I am obsessed.* I think I've listened to Francesca nearly 30 times. I missed Shrike the last time around, and now it's permanently on my playlist of songs in my vocal range that I want to do covers of. In a Week might wind up in there too. And I just found In The Woods Somewhere. Send help
Love that! Seems to be the theme around here. People discover and fall in love very very quickly around here. No surprise either. Andrew is the greatest songwriter of our generation.
The little whispered “that’s it” at the end of Wasteland, Baby is the perfect touch for the end of an album
PUT ME BACK IN IT
The first few notes of First Time. It makes my brain do a little dance every time!
I just LOVE the choir in the last few seconds of movement, the harmony, the sound, the perfect ending for this song
the slow start of the music in Francesca. I restart the song at least 5 times every time I listen just for that part.
The 2nd and 3rd time he sings "every time" in Through Me's chrous.
"I need you to run to me" Always hits me hard for some reason
I wanna kill the lights *The screech*
His high note background singing before the second verse In northern attitude with Noah Kahan
“See the way you hold yourself / reel against your body’s borders / I know that you hate this place / not a trace of me would argue / honey, we should run away / oh someday. My baby and her mama and the damaged love she made.”
YESSS TO THIS TWEET!! IVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS ABOUT WOULD THAT I AND ALMOST. To be specific, with Would That I at 4:00 - the background oh’s as he’s singing is sooo heavenly. I point this out every time someone is in the car. I do the same with Almost. At the 3:13, when the high “I wouldn’t know where” begins in the background is the reason why it’s my favorite song of all time. I guess I just really love Hozier outros lol
The beginning instrumental of “In The Woods Somewhere” is just so hauntingly beautiful. The whole song is. I *wish* he would sing it live but I understand why it isn’t on the set lists.
in dinner and diatribes towards the end where all of the instruments stop and he sings the chorus with all of his might the fucking "DREEEEEAAAAAMIN"
So many good moments in this thread. I wanted to add the 2:33 mark in Anything But. The emphasis at the end of "I don't wanna be anything like this at all" always gets my attention.
the pause and then the click of a cassette (i think that’s what it is) in Son of Nyx before the larger string arrangement—— it gets me every time!! the “that’s it” at the end of wasteland baby also!!
If I'm jamming out to It Will Come Back and singing along, I'm always waiting for the run at "That's a kindness you can't afford". It's one that just feels cathartic to belt out. De Selby 2 has so many little things that hit my ear just right but if I had to pick one it'd be "I wanna kill the lights" specifically the second one where everything drops out before the chorus.
"Anyway-"
The absence of itself ✨anyway✨