When Hozier’s 2013 debut single “Take Me to Church” became a worldwide viral hit, it looked like his success had peaked before he’d really got started. A righteous condemnation of religious homophobia that introduced Andrew Hozier-Byrne’s melodic blend of socially conscious, literate soulful folk and blues rock, it reached No 1 in 12 countries, with two and a half billion streams and counting.
A decade and three albums later – including last year’s Dante’s Inferno-inspired UK No 1 third record Unreal Unearth – and Hozier has another global smash on his hands. The TikTok assisted (as things always are these days) “Too Sweet”, a gospel-tinged pop semi-anthem about being the hedonist in an incompatible couple, has reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic, making Hozier the first Irish artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Sinéad O’Connor in 1990.
At an uplifting, inclusive show at Finsbury Park, he was in typically gracious mood. “Thank you to everyone who streamed that song,” he said, which, by the sea of phones set to record as soon as the song’s staccato guitar struck up, was pretty much everyone in attendance.
It’s hardly the most remarkable of songs to become such a huge hit, but it does showcase the Hozier method: well-constructed tunes that are well intentioned – Hozier writes about Irish identity, love, religion and civil justice (he made a plea for Palestinian rights at the show’s conclusion). They’re also heartfelt, often anthemic and occasionally bombastic, elevated by a wonderful, searching dream of a voice.
There were plenty such pleasures on offer at his biggest-ever London show. He arrived onstage at 7.20pm sharp to an attentive if subdued Sunday crowd buoyed by the appearance of the sun after a day of on-off rain, backed by a proficient seven-piece band including five musicians and two backing singers. He displayed an easy-going charm, shaggy haired and long limbed in black suit jacket and white shirt, as the music switched variously from supple, funky opener of new song “Eat Your Young” to 70s blues rock on the darker, edgier “To Be Alone”, with its festival friendly “whoa whoas”, with intermittent diversions to his folk roots.
A mid-set folkie one-two of finger-picking “Like Real People Do” and beautiful new ballad “I, Carrion (icarian)” were swoonsome; early track “Cherry Wine”, sang solo from a B-stage in the encore, was a delicate delight, albeit slightly lost amid a quiet sound.
It was an example that Hozier’s shift from the intimacy of his records to the vast space of a huge outdoor field didn’t always upscale; there was nothing in the way of hi-tech production to help a heart-on-sleeve performance, and moments when the music pleasantly drifted across the gentle evening sun. A perfunctory take on Joe Cocker’s bar blues piano “Feelin’ Alright” with support act Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes was a better idea than it was in practice.
But with “Take Me to Church” he had the ultimate, unifying set closer. Easily his best song, it was inevitably welcomed rapturously, ending in an impressively unholy racket, with a Pride flag pointedly visible onstage.