Hozier’s new EP, “Eat Your Young,” was released on March 17, 2023, and is home to three beautifully produced songs including, “Eat Your Young,” “All Things End” and “Through Me (The Flood),” each uniquely adding to the production as a whole. Candidly, I initially did a double-take when the unsettling title of the EP was announced. Eating your young is a peculiar concept to base an EP off of — I think anyone would admit that. However, after listening to each of the three songs, all of my preliminary qualms quickly melted away. Each had entirely different sounds, a trait of his production that I constantly fall in love with. I view the EP as a pyramid, each song serving as a point in the complete work while also contributing something exclusively on its own. This was a masterpiece on the end of Hozier and his production team.

Beginning with the first song, “Eat Your Young,” Hozier utilizes borderline disturbing imagery to paint the picture of desire. The track begins with an ominous, off-beat melody, one reminiscent of something you would hear as the villain of a movie is introduced. A lyric that stood out to me was, “Let me put my lips to something / Let me wrap my teeth around the world,” which I believe possesses a dual meaning. In these lines and throughout the entire song, Hozier seems to be longing for someone in particular, referring to the beloved as “darling” and “honey” repeatedly. While these allusions signal a traditional love song, “Eat Your Young” is far from a stereotype. The track feels like a love letter to the world, something Hozier is trying to fully understand. In a gluttonous tone, he exemplifies the consuming nature of desire, something that is often taboo to discuss. In this way, I found the track to be a refreshing exposé paralleling personal cravings with a larger longing to belong in the vastness of the world.

Secondly, “All Things End,” my favorite by far on the EP, offers a completely different feel. The song feels slightly gospel-inspired, especially as it nears the end when Hozier bursts into multi-layered harmonies. Lyrically, I resonate highly with the sentiments of accepting finality in a situation. Whether it be a friendship, relationship or, more broadly, an era of one’s life, it is extremely difficult to grapple with ending. Personally, there is nothing I loathe more than becoming aware of the passage of time as I witness segments of my life come to a close. I crave rigidity in the structures of my life, but simply put, that is not how it works, as Hozier points out, “All that we intend is scrawled in sand.” This lyric highlights the ever-changing nature of human’s lives. He goes on to explain “that isn’t always bad,” because the concept of forever is one that is not compatible with humanity. Combined with a melody that gives me chills with each listen, the self-aware lyrics soothe some of my most deep-rooted anxieties.

Lastly on the EP is the song titled “Through Me (The Flood).” In all honesty, this track took a few listens for me to appreciate it fully. The song begins as a story being told about an obscure landscape, which I had trouble understanding the significance of. However, the vocals and intense melody are what drew me in more so than lyrics. Hozier opens the track with very simple vocals, utilizing the richness of his voice. His Irish brogue, which is usually hard to identify in his songs, is especially recognizable in “Through Me (The Flood).” This contributes to the folky nature of the whole production. While the lyrics didn’t especially evoke anything within me, I can still relish in the general message of the song. Hozier subjects himself to the world, as he says “That the world, it flows through me.” Here he alludes to today’s growing interconnectedness. In our digital world, the human experience is widely understood as one entity — although our social climate progressively gets more polarizing. I read this final song on the EP as a plea for unity and empathy amongst our collective human race. “Eat Your Young” touches on a myriad of experiences, increasing the breadth of its meaning. The EP precedes the release of a new album expected at the end of this summer. I expect Hozier’s new release will live up to the caliber of “Eat Your Young” and hope to find even more new favorites from the album.