Hozier is feeling particularly nocturnal on “Too Sweet,” one of four new releases that appear on his new EP Unheard. The musician first teased the song on TikTok with a quick sketch of a coffee-drinking, chain-smoking skeleton pumping it through its headphones.
“I take my whiskey neat, my coffee black, and my bed at three,” he sings, falling into the rhythm of a true night owl. The “Too Sweet” snippet has been used in more than 38,500 posts on the viral video app this month.
“It’s my pleasure to share more work from the Unreal Unearth album sessions,” Hozier shared in a statement about the new batch of songs. “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 get to share them with you now. I hope you enjoy these new songs and I look forward to perhaps seeing you at an upcoming show soon!”
Unheard features three other songs in the vein of Unreal Unearth, which arrived last August as the musician’s third studio album. Among them appear “Empire Now, “Fare Well,” and “Wildflower and Barley,” a collaboration with Americana musician Allison Russell.
“It’s always a joy singing with Hozier — I’ve been fortunate to do so live on stage many times since we first met singing with Queen Mavis at Newport Folk Fest in 2019,” Russell shared in a statement. Hozier previously performed with the singer as a backing vocalist during sessions for her 2023 album The Returner. She’ll be joining him on tour from April through June.
“Recording Andrew’s meditative masterpiece of a song ‘Wildflower and Barley’ was our first time in the studio together,” she continued. “Hozier & his co-producer, Jeff Gitty, were an absolute delight to work with and taught me a veritable Master’s Class in the subtleties of vintage mics, plate reverb and sonic exploration during our day at EastWest Studio in LA last year. It’s an honor to be a part of this wonderful project and to collaborate with Hozier — an Artist, Writer, and Freedom Singer for the Ages.”
