By Mina Wiebe

I’m pretty much convinced that Hozier’s voice has the power to make anything sound angelic. The man has pipes—gorgeous, soulful, baritone pipes that send shivers up your spine, and goosebumps to your arms. The Irish singer’s new 2019 album Wasteland, Baby! is no exception; yet again, he’s managed to produce an impressive track list, stunning vocals, and lyrical masterpieces. A song I particularly enjoyed, was To Noise Making (Sing), this bouncy, soul/gospel tune that pulls you in with its catchiness and reminds you of simpler times. It’s a song centered around the nostalgia of singing, and in the first line, Hozier asks you to “[r]emember when you’d sing, just for the fuck of it”.

The fact that it’s such an incredibly upbeat, bubbly song makes you want to sing along, and it’s like Hozier is mischievously luring you in. He makes it clear that it doesn’t matter if you have a good voice or not—regardless of your vocal abilities, Hozier wants you to sing along. The lyrics feature the word “sing” a whopping seventy-three times, so if that doesn’t show how determined he is to convince you, I don’t know what else would.

The chorus is especially catchy, with a simple drum beat, a rattling tambourine, and Hozier’s clear, crisp vocals guiding you through. Like any good sing-along song, it’s not too intimidating; Hozier makes sure to keep the vocals fairly simple, with minimal runs and clear pronunciation. Of course it still sounds stunning, because he has one of those distinct voices that can’t be replicated, but the slight simplification of his usually more extensive display of vocal range is charming and warm, as he invites you to sing along. The accompaniment of a gospel choir backing his vocals further adds to the warmth, urging you to let go of your worries and simply get lost in the music. And maybe I’m biased due to my obsession with the richness of Hozier’s vocals, but I had no problem listening to the singer’s advice—it’s  a song you want to sing along to, regardless of the lyrics.