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Music

03rd Sep 2018

Hozier to release the long-awaited Nina Cried Power EP this week

Kate Demolder

Hozier Say My Name

It’s already been a great year for Irish music.

Fans of the haunting tones of Andrew Hozier Byrne will be in good spirits this morning, as the Wicklow native has revealed the release date for his latest EP, Nina Cried Power.

The singer, who has kept a relatively low profile for the past year, teased that he was gearing up to return to the spotlight back in June when he announced a run of North American shows for later this year.

“Very excited to announce the upcoming tour for later in the year, which will coincide with the releasing of new work,” he said in a statement at the time.

“The completion of the record is fast approaching and I’m eager to share it with everyone.”

Then three weeks ago, the platinum-selling artist announced that he planned to play a special run of intimate live rehearsal shows at The Academy, Dublin this September.

Before hitting the US, Hozier will play Dublin on 3, 5 and 7 September.

“I’m thrilled to release the Nina Cried Power EP on September 6th,” Byrne wrote in a post on Twitter on Monday.

“This collection of songs is an example of what I’ve been working on in the last while and will be a small taste of what is to be expected from the upcoming album.”

Four songs comprise the forthcoming new EP – out Thursday, 6 September – as well as several more set to appear on his as-yet-untitled second full-length, due in early 2019.

He credits the title track to Nina Simone, who, he told Rolling Stone, inspired the piece. A “song about protest songs,” Nina Cried Power is his way of honouring the freedom-fighting singers of years past.

This isn’t the first time Hozier has been strong on social issues, as he recently performed at the ‘Stand4Truth’ rally, which had been organised to gather in solidarity with victims of abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church during the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland last month.