Unheard

The pandemic proved to be a productive time for Andrew Hozier-Byrne as a songwriter. The uncertainty and turbulence provided a muse, prompting him to shape his third album, 2023’s *Unreal Unearth*, around Dante’s *Inferno*, his reflections on the world and his own life rendered as descents into the 14th-century epic’s nine circles of Hell. After the frustration of lockdown’s enforced isolation, he also found joy and inspiration in collaboration as restrictions lifted. “I was able to travel again, to work with people again,” he told Apple Music at the album’s release. “That was a really new energy and it became a very intensely productive and intensely creative time…to just make music with people for the enjoyment of making it. I would take those jams, and then work out what the song needed to be, how we could use that to make the music.” The result was more songs than Hozier knew what to do with—even while finding room for 16 tracks on *Unreal Unearth*, he had to leave some music behind. This EP rescues four songs from the cutting room floor, and it’s an entirely justified venture with the tracks sharing the album’s compelling sense of musical adventure. With its ticking rhythm and gnarled bassline, “Too Sweet” (originally considered for the album’s circle of gluttony) tips into late-night funk, “Empire Now” (violence) pairs a sighing slide guitar with a grinding digital beat, and “Fare Well” (the ascent out of Hell) is busy, lifting folk pop. The outstanding highlight though is “Wildflower and Barley” (a contender for limbo), a gliding and swooping pastoral soul duet with Grammy-winning folk adventurer Allison Russell.