Ever since his self-titled debut album dropped in 2014, people have been hungry for more of Hozier’s soulful, gorgeously written music. After four long years of waiting, Hozier finally gave the public what they want and released music. His new EP, “Nina Cried Power,” arrived with the announcement of a tour and the promise of a second full-length album in early 2019. As a longtime fan of Hozier, I was eager to listen to the four new songs on this EP. After listening to them dozens of times, I can assure you he doesn’t disappoint.
The four songs on this EP are a perfect distillation of Hozier’s music. There’s a powerful, almost gospel song criticizing the racism of society and calling attention to civil rights icons in “Nina Cried Power”, a dreamy, romantic, somewhat creepy song in “NFWMB”, a sweet and fun love song with a great guitar beat in “Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue)”, and a gentle and mournful acoustic piece in “Shrike”. Although I definitely recommend listening to Hozier’s incredible debut album, I do think that this EP is a pretty great summary of his music for anyone looking to get into it.
Overall, I adored this EP. I can’t wait to listen to it a dozen more times (and that’s probably just within the next day or two). More than that, I can’t wait to see what he does next. If his next album is anything like this EP, his many fans won’t be disappointed.