After a four year long hiatus, Hozier is back to appease his eager audiences with a three song EP. The EP Eat Your Young, which came out on Hozier’s birthday, March 17, stays on track with his usual folk-style songs, full of angst and riddled with religious allusions. 

Eat Your Young consists of three outstanding songs: “Eat Your Young,” “All Things End,” and “Through Me (The Flood).” “Eat Your Young” and “All Things End” explore the two of Dante’s nine circles of Hell, gluttony and heresy. “Through Me (The Flood)” takes a more peaceful and reflective approach, dealing with the world’s viewpoint during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“‘Eat Your Young’ was more playful, more just thinking about destructive mindsets, and trying to write from the perspective, in a fun way, of an unreliable narrator—somebody who relishes in the idea of just taking what they can take, destroying what they can destroy, damn the expense.…” Hozier said in an interview with People.

The overtones of gluttony and greed are dominant in the lyrics of “Eat Your Young.” The song begins with a strong intro, luring people in with a suspenseful tone and hooking their attention with the ominous sound of an Irish man begging to be fed. “Eat Your Young” quickly became one of the most popular songs of the EP used as a background song for thirst traps across social media. It makes sense, as the song radiates power and suave. Hozier depicts the feeling of taking what you want when you want it. The world is your oyster and it tastes better dressed with guiltless success, no matter the cost.

“All Things End” maintains the same style as “Eat Your Young,” having an upbeat melody paired with bittersweet lyrics about the despairs of humanity, yet is less aggressive and harsh. “All Things End” deals with all things ending; life, love, pain, etc. The song isn’t hopeless and sad, instead, it reminds you that because of all these changes, life should be lived to the fullest, and the fear of losing the things we value shouldn’t be used as an excuse to shy away from new experiences. It is a nice transition from the confrontational style in “Eat Your Young” and inspires a feeling of satisfaction with our lives and what we’re doing with them. 

“Through Me (The Flood)” is the slowest in the EP, and the most tedious to listen to. This song focuses on the human experience during the pandemic. We thought we could take on the virus and leapt headstrong into it like a swimmer conquering the ocean. However, as the deaths added up we quickly realized that this virus could not be dealt with with sheer willpower, as is reflected in the song when the swimmer turns around to go back to shore. The lyrics of “Through Me (The Flood)” are chilling and paint an interesting story about death and human will through struggle. However, the melody/beat.musical term is slow and feels as if he is having a conversation with someone uninterested, instead of singing with the pain of being alive. The song picks up in speed around half way through, but at that point, my interest is no longer piqued. “Through Me (The Flood)” is the type of song that you are okay not turning up the volume to hear it over a vacuum. 

This EP is just a tease of what Hozier plans to release in the near future. His Unreal Unearth album is due to come out later this year. For now however, he has us desperate in his clutches, greedy for more and awaiting his concert in Red Rocks coming up in October.