Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 110 Best Albums of the 2010s, representing a varied cross-section of artists, genres, and styles. Click “Next Album” below to explore each album in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & album index here.
Hozier | Hozier
Island/Rubyworks (2014)
Selected by Jeremy Levine
It’s not often that the number two record in the US broods as aggressively as Hozier does. On the back of its smash-hit-minor-key-gospel-tinged-sex-anthem, this record with a love song about decaying bodies, a lyric including the phrase “rape culture” that doesn’t feel contrived, and more oohing backing vocals than you can shake a stick at propelled itself—and its mastermind—into the popular consciousness. In the fall of 2014, it seemed that everyone knew who Hozier was, something that you wouldn’t expect if you listened to one of his songs. Still, the record lives up to the hype. Hozier gives a man with a huge voice a dynamic group of settings against which he can show off his talents, and five years later there are still surprises hidden all over the place.
LISTEN & WATCH:
