Xtreme Radio’s Alys Evans went along to the much anticipated sold-out Hozier show in Cardiff.
On arrival into Cardiff’s St. David’s Hall, the apparent eclectic nature of the audience was a testament to Hozier’s eponymous debut album and its capacity to reach so many people.
The Irish female trio Wyvern Lingo kicked off the evening with material from their latest EP. They shared the musical traits of Hozier with one of their singles, ‘Subsided’, exposing their harmonic abilities with an underlying power. This only amped the eagerness to see what Hozier would bring.
Easing into the set with one of his more folksy tracks, ‘Like Real People Do’, the line “we could just kiss like real people do” was beautifully whispered, yet paradoxically sung with such emotional volume.
It wasn’t until 2015 that Andrew Hozier-Byrne was fully recognised for his melodically powerful combination of blues; gospel and folk. ‘Jackie and Wilson’ in particular stood out, with its heavy blues beat and gospel inspired backing vocals all tie in together with the soulful depths of Hozier’s voice to create an effortless fun, yet layered track. This was preceded by ‘From Eden’, which acted as a bridge between the folk-like melodies and the build of gravitas in each bluesy growl.
‘It Will Come Back’ brought a mournful edge to the vocals with outcries of “don’t be kind to me” and “show me mercy no more” with sinister cello melodies piercing through every beat – once again the raw emotion was palpable.
Whilst each track portrayed at times the confliction between love and loss (‘To Be Alone’; ‘Arsonist’s Lullaby’), every time he addressed the audience there was nothing but humour and warmth. Each introduction he gave, he would almost chuckle the words out in what seemed to portray his pure enjoyment performing to such a fervent and at times heckling crowd – “actually my first time in Wales” – but hopefully not the last. The relaxed nature of Hozier’s persona was summed up as he stopped mid-intro to half-laughingly tell the audience that “we’re gonna count that in again”, comfortable in not achieving a pristine show.
‘To Be Alone’, reportedly one of his favourite tracks, was a perfect blend of an aching-yet-strong voice – once again combining the bluesy guitar line with cello hums, and if nothing else, showing the huge range Hozier is capable of – progressing from deep growls to piercing howls.
One highlight was the duet, ‘In A Week’, where the vocalist and pianist from support act Wyvern Lingo – Helen Cowley – joined Hozier on stage for an ethereal duet, defying the thought that singing of corpses could be anything but beautiful. Prior to this, Hozier emphasized how much his hometown of Wicklow Hills, and both his and Wyvern Lingo’s home county had influenced his lyrics, explaining the sheer beauty yet simultaneous tragedy – “Wicklow Hills, a place only ever heard after ‘another body has been found’”.
In keeping with recent heartbreaking musical news, Hozier then performed a tribute to the passing of David Bowie. The delicate and quite frankly tear-jerking rendition of ‘Young Americans’ made the audience reach complete silence in recognition of Hozier’s emotive and immense captivation of Bowie’s song.
Counteracting the delicacy of emotions, the set concluded with a climactic ‘Take Me To Church’, fulfilling every expectation and then some. The enormity of the stage’s output brought on a unanimous standing ovation. The vocals beautifully intertwined with the heavy beats and the gospel backing creating a palpable energy.
After a chorus of applause, Hozier returned with an enchanting solo performance of ‘Cherry Wine’ with a stripped back and raw quality, followed by an equally intricate cover of ‘The Blackbird’, eliciting faces of awe at the take on The Beatles.
To complete the night of surpassed expectations, Hozier’s current single ‘Work Song’ filled the room with dramatic percussion bringing finality to the night; despite the obvious longing for more from the crowd’s cheers.
To sum up this performance, each song told a story – instead of a mere description, they became animated from explosive and dynamic performances, using every ounce of emotion that you couldn’t help but feel the passion for yourself.
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