Sedated

When Sedated first plays, what surprises most is how it manages to sound both intimate and expansive at the same time. The piano enters with a clean melody, almost like a whisper, but Hozier's voice unfolds with that darkness that is already his trademark: it oscillates between low and high notes without ever losing intensity, while the gospel choir adds an unexpected shine. The lyrics don’t speak of just any love, but of that attraction that drags you down, with images ranging from shadows creeping in to something more toxic, like a poison seeping into the everyday. It’s not a song that invites you to dance, but rather to feel each note as if it were a slow, deliberate heartbeat.

They recorded it in 2013, at a time when Hozier had not yet crossed the pond to massive success. The track ended up in eighth place on his debut album, released in September 2014, but became the third single from the record and eventually reached third place on the Irish Singles Chart. It wasn’t just radio play: it also climbed to fifth place on the Billboard Ireland Digital Song Sales and number five on the Billboard Alternative Airplay Chart, something uncommon at the time for an Irish artist in the United States. The mixing was handled by Andrew Scheps, known for his work with bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the production was led by Hozier himself alongside Rob Kirwan. The result is a track that sounds like a home studio recording but with the precision of a well-thought-out arrangement: the piano doesn’t compete with the voice, the choir doesn’t drown out the message, and that 3:28 runtime is exactly what it needs to avoid tiring the listener.