Andrew Hozier-Byrne doesn't just release songs. He drops weight. He drops boulders of Greek mythology, Irish history, and Italian poetry into the middle of a pop landscape that, quite frankly, isn't always ready for it. When people started searching for who we are hozier after the release of his third studio album, Unreal Unearth, they weren't just looking for lyrics. They were looking for a map.
The track "Who We Are" sits like a heavy, bruising heart in the middle of that record. It’s not a radio anthem. It's a howl.
If you've followed Hozier since he was "The Forest Jesus" of 2013, you know he has a thing for the dirt. He likes things that are buried. Unreal Unearth is a concept album structured around Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, specifically the nine circles of Hell. "Who We Are" represents the circle of Heresy. But here's the thing about Hozier's version of heresy: it isn't about burning at the stake for hating God. It’s about the violence we do to ourselves when we try to be something we aren't. It’s about the quiet, devastating realization that we’ve spent our lives carving away the best parts of ourselves to fit a mold that was never meant for us.
The Raw Anatomy of Who We Are by Hozier
Most people hear the scream. About three-quarters of the way through the song, Hozier lets out this raw, unpolished vocal run that sounds less like a professional singer and more like a man falling off a cliff. It’s intentional. He recorded much of this album during the pandemic, a time when everyone was forced into a state of forced introspection.
"Who We Are" tackles the "labor" of being. Think about that for a second. We spend so much energy maintaining a persona, a job, a relationship, or a social standing. Hozier argues in this track that the "who we are" part isn't the finished product. It’s the raw, bleeding leftovers after the world is done with us.
The lyrics are hauntingly specific. He talks about how "we're born at night" and "raised by a light" that isn't even ours. It’s a metaphor for the external expectations—parents, religion, society—that shape us before we ever get a chance to decide who we actually want to be. By the time we reach adulthood, we’re just a collection of habits and scars. That's the heresy. The sin is the self-denial.
Dante, COVID, and the Descent
To understand who we are hozier, you have to look at the timeline. The album was born out of a period where the world stopped. Hozier has mentioned in interviews—specifically with The Irish Times and NME—that he found himself reading The Divine Comedy during the lockdowns. He was struck by the idea of the descent.
In Dante’s work, you have to go through the bottom of Hell to get to the other side. You don't go around it. You go through the ice. "Who We Are" feels like that midway point in the descent where you realize you can't go back. You've seen too much.
The production on the track, handled largely by Hozier alongside Jennifer Decilveo, reflects this. It starts with a steady, almost heartbeat-like piano. It’s grounded. Then the strings swell. The drums come in, but they don't feel like a celebration; they feel like a march. It’s the sound of someone realizing they’ve been working a "job" that is actually just the slow erosion of their soul.
The Lyrics That Gut You
Let's talk about the line: "So much of the living, love, is the being unknown."
That’s the thesis. Honestly, it’s terrifying. We live in an era of over-sharing, of "Who We Are" being defined by an Instagram bio or a LinkedIn profile. Hozier flips the script. He suggests that the most authentic parts of us are the ones nobody sees. The parts we can't even explain to the people we love.
There is a deep sense of Irish melancholy here too. Growing up in Bray, County Wicklow, Hozier was surrounded by a culture that has a complicated relationship with the "self." Between the Catholic Church's historical grip on identity and the rapid modernization of Ireland, there’s a generational tension. You can hear it in the way he sings about "the carving of the stone."
Why the Vocals Sound Different Here
If you listen to "Take Me To Church," it's polished. It’s a powerhouse. But in "Who We Are," the vocals are strained. You can hear the breath. You can hear the vocal cords vibrating under the pressure.
Hozier has always been a technical singer, trained in choral music and blues. But here, he leans into the "ugly" side of his range. He’s reaching for notes that sound like they hurt. This mirrors the lyrical content—if the song is about the internal struggle of existence, a pretty, perfect vocal would be a lie. It would be "heresy" to the message of the song.
The Concept of Unreal Unearth
The album's title itself, Unreal Unearth, is a play on T.S. Eliot’s "The Waste Land" ("Unreal City") and the literal act of digging. To unearth something is to bring it to the light. Usually, when we unearth things, they’re dead. Or they’re old. Or they’re dirty.
When you ask who we are hozier, the answer is found in the dirt.
He’s exploring the idea that we are not our successes. We are the things we’ve buried. In the context of the album’s narrative, this song serves as a transition. It’s the moment the listener moves from the external sins (lust, gluttony) into the deeper, more intellectual sins of the soul. Heresy is a sin of the mind. It’s a choice to believe something different than the established truth.
In Hozier's world, the established truth is often a lie, and the heresy is finally admitting who you actually are when the lights go out.
How This Fits Into the Larger Discography
Hozier's self-titled debut was about the body. Wasteland, Baby! was about the end of the world (and the hope found within it). Unreal Unearth is about the internal journey.
"Who We Are" is the spiritual successor to songs like "Arsonist's Lullabye." It deals with the "demons" we keep. But while "Arsonist's Lullabye" was about not smelling the smoke, "Who We Are" is about standing in the middle of the fire and realizing you’re the one who lit it.
It’s a more mature perspective. It lacks the youthful rebellion of his earlier work and replaces it with a weary, adult acceptance. It’s not about fighting the system anymore; it’s about surviving the self.
The Impact on Fans and the "Hozier Aesthetic"
There is a reason Hozier has such a dedicated, almost cult-like following. He validates the "outsider" feeling. In "Who We Are," he speaks to the people who feel like they are performing their lives rather than living them.
The song has become a staple of his live shows for a reason. When he performs it, the room usually goes still. There’s no upbeat clapping. People aren't dancing. They are staring. It’s a communal moment of recognizing a shared exhaustion.
He isn't offering a solution. He doesn't tell you how to "fix" who you are. He just acknowledges how much work it is to exist. Sometimes, that’s all people need.
Practical Insights for the Hozier Listener
If you’re trying to dive deeper into the themes of this song and the album at large, there are a few things you can do to enrich the experience.
First, read Canto X of Dante’s Inferno. This is the section on Heresy. You’ll see the parallels between the "burning tombs" of Dante’s vision and the feeling of being trapped in one's own skin that Hozier describes.
Second, listen to the album in order. Unreal Unearth is not a collection of singles; it’s a linear descent. "Who We Are" hits differently when you’ve already passed through "Francesca" (Lust) and "Eat Your Young" (Gluttony).
Third, pay attention to the silence. The spaces between the notes in "Who We Are" are just as important as the notes themselves. It’s a song that demands a high-quality pair of headphones and a room where you can actually hear yourself think.
Finally, look at the credits. Seeing names like Brandi Carlile (who appears elsewhere on the album) and various orchestral contributors shows the scale of what Hozier was trying to achieve. This wasn't a bedroom pop project. It was a massive, cinematic undertaking meant to sound as big as the themes it tackles.
Hozier reminds us that the "who we are" part of life isn't a destination. It’s a constant, often painful process of unearthing. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s heretical. And according to him, it’s the only way to actually be alive.
To truly engage with the music, take "Who We Are" and pair it with a reading of "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot. Notice the shared imagery of the "stony rubbish" and the "dry stone." Hozier is writing in a long tradition of artists who look at a broken world and try to find the pulse underneath the rubble. Don't just listen to the melody—listen to the excavation.