Irish rockstar Hozier released his new EP, Unaired, as a continuation of his third studio album Unreal Unearth. Similar to the second installment of this series, Unheard, featuring his hit single Too Sweet, Unaired only has three songs: “Nobody’s Soldier”, “July”, and “That You Are”. 

The lead single, “Nobody’s Soldier”, was projected to be an instant hit, ever since Hozier released a snippet of the chorus on multiple social media platforms. Fans and critics alike, anticipated the release of the song, creating fan edits and videos including the song before the full song even dropped. 

Nobody’s Soldier is Hozier’s classic sound with a beat drop right before the chorus and vocals of raw power. The song details a story of a person being worked to the bone, being forced into a certain role, but they don’t want to be anyone’s puppet, not “nobody’s soldier”. The song packs a punch regarding the lyrics and truly anyone can relate to the feeling of having to choose between living how you please or how other people want you to live. 

The second song July, is noticeably calmer and more mellow. This is more of a love song, the lyrics showing how the singer felt cold like in the winter until his July came to warm up his world. I would say the slower beat, lower notes, and hints of keyboard gives it a jazz-like sound. It definitely isn’t as popular as Nobody’s Soldier, but I believe this is very similar to his other popular songs like “From Eden”. 

The third and final song, That You Are, is similar to July in that it’s very calm and mellow. However, this song is much more sad in comparison. There are no drums or any percussion, it’s all acoustic guitar, string instruments, and maybe piano. A look at the lyrics will show you that this is no mournful ballad, but a love song. The title line reads “That I’d be, Anywhere that you are”. 

This EP showcases Hozier’s undoubtable talents as singer, songwriter, and producer. It has the a similar mood as its parent album, and anyone who like a mix of classic rock and folk music would definitely enjoy giving this a listen.