Thursday, October 23, 2014

Hozier - 'Take Me to Church'

Hozier—born Andrew Hozier-Byrne—presents a modern day Gospel with his contemporary masterpiece, ‘Take Me to Church.’ 

The Irishman recently performed ‘Take Me to Church’ on SNL, and he brought down the house.  The song effortlessly brings together blues, Gospel, soul, and rock.  Indeed, it is refreshing to hear an electric guitar-driven alternative track in an era dominated lately by synth, computers, acoustic instruments, and light percussion. 

Beyond the music, the lyrics are deeply powerful and moving.  One choral stanza reads:
           "Take me to Church;  I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies;                              I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife; Offer me that deathless                  death; Good God, let me give you my life."
And when Hozier sings these words, he belts them out with passion and heart.  It may take a few spins for the words to connect to the listener, but once they do, you’ll feel you’ve, in fact, been taken to church.

Watch the SNL performance of ‘Take Me to Church’ in the player below.  (If you want to watch the official video instead, click here):


No comments: