By Tom Lanham
T
alk about the shot heard 'round the
world. Every great once in a while
you get a single like "Take Me to
Church," by Irish folk-rocker Andrew
Hozier-Byrne, who performs as simply
Hozier. The song – originally released over
a year ago – has topped charts all over the
globe, and made the man something of an
overnight sensation, thanks to its soulful
delivery, Gospel-uplifting chorus, and
double-entendre lyrics, which on the surface describe a simple boy-girl relationship. Dig a little deeper, however, and they
become an unsparing indictment of the
Catholic church itself: "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."
Then, there's the track's video, which
takes the metaphor to a whole new level. It
depicts a gay male couple being set upon
by a vicious mob of hooligans, and is rooted in the recent anti-gay movement that is
polarizing Russia and alienating the rest of
the tolerant, forward-thinking world.
Blowing through San Francisco on his current world juggernaut, Hozier's popularity
perhaps culminated a week earlier, when
he was the featured artist on a Bill Haderhosted episode of Saturday Night Live,
where his whiskey-soaked, Van Morrisonregal voice rattled the rafters on a passionate rendition of "Take Me to Church." "It
was amazing – the cast and crew were so
sweet and so kind, they really made me
feel comfortable there," says the tall, angular artist, kicking back in his dressing
room.
For this 26-year-old Irishman – who
hails from the tiny hamlet of Bray – the
SNL experience was simply surreal. Hader
– a droll-witted show vet who had recently left the cast to pursue other projects –
was surrounded by a coterie of stellar wellwishers that evening, like Kristin Wiig,
Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Jack Breyer, and
Zach Galifianakis. And he met them all.
And got to chat with Hader at length. "He's
very unassuming, he's very quiet and he
seems quite shy, but he was a really cool
dude," he says. "And even Steven
Spielberg was there, and I got to say hello
to him, too, which was crazy. I was talking
to him and his wife, and his wife was quite
a fan of mine – I couldn't believe it! She's
really into music, so that was really cool,
even more surreal than I had ever expected."
Hozier desperately wanted to attend
the program's weekly wrap party in New
York. But reluctantly, he left right after the
broadcast and returned to his hotel for
photo by Dara Munnis
some shuteye – he was flying out to officially launch his tour in Los Angeles the
next morning. And the Hollywood gig had
its own constellation of stars, he sighs.
Another fan popped up backstage, made
himself known – fellow Celt Colin Farrell,
who chatted with the singer at length,
post-performance. "He was just the greatest guy, really, really lovely," he says, still a
bit stunned.
Where was Hozier coming from when
he crafted his multi-layered smash?
"Church" was written right after a romantic breakup, he admits, and viewed from
the perspective of still being in said relationship. "But more what was in my head
was taking a swipe at religion, or any
organization that undermines the more
natural vibes of the universe," he explains.
"Like specifically, the Catholic church –
they have a very unique history and legacy
in Ireland, even down to (not) receiving
communion if you're divorced. Just ridiculous stuff, like the instituted gender
inequality, or a discrimination based on
sexual orientation, or teaching people to be
ashamed of their sexuality, even down to
teaching people not to use contraception."
He snorts, derisively. "It's just shockingly
irresponsible and backwards. So my song
was essentially about an organization that
undermines what it means to be a human
being, and to celebrate yourself as a human
being by asserting yourself through loving
somebody, through the act of sex. And
there's a good bit of (late atheist author)
Christopher Hitchens in it, certainly in the
first verse."
Mention the fact that the current Pope
and cardinals seem to be opening up in the
gay-tolerance department, and Hozier
shrugs, scowling. "Oh, like 'Maybe they're
people, too!'" he snaps. "When policy
changes, I think it's important to see the
difference between good public relations
and actual policy. Because policy itself has
yet to change. But it's a start. Yet I would be
of the opinion now that just saying 'Let's
tolerate people being gay' is too little, too
late. I mean, it's 2014. It's not progressive in
any way, shape, or form – they're just finally catching up."
Hozier thought he was just venting his
own personal spleen with "Take Me To
Church." But the song has struck a
resounding chord with fans, many of
whom have written to him about similar
feelings. "They've shared stories of their
experiences either with hate crimes or prejudice or discrimination," he says. "And I
wasn't prepared for that. And I've got to
say, people were revealing very personal
things, like being kicked out of their homes
or being victims of actual hate crimes,
22 illinoisentertainer.com november 2014
which was very touching and moving."
All of this, of course, would just be so
much spilled Guinness – a real flash in the
pan – if all the guy had was one noteworthy nugget. But Hozier's just-issued
eponymous debut (Hozier) is chock full of
tasty morsels, like the bluesy "Jackie and
Wilson," the reverent recital "From Eden,"
the tent-revival-fervent "Work Song," and
"Angel of Small Death & the Code [