Hozier is finally back with his new EP! - i99Radio, Philadelphia's Alternative Rock!

Bayside returned to Philly this past week for a two night stand celebrating their music both old and new. i99Radio was on the scene to capture night one of two. For the first night, Bayside brought songs from their early years, 2004 to 2008. For many of us, it takes us back instantly to the songs of our childhood, middle and high school years, and the audience spanning Gen X to Gen Alpha came ready to rock.

Long Island, NY’s The Sleeping started the night off and brought their unique blend of post-hardcore and raw energy to the stage that really got the audience going. People thrashed around and sang along, and even a toddler hopping up on his dad’s shoulders to get a better view of frontman Doug Robinson, who climbed up to the barrier, putting his microphone up to fans to sing along with them, and eventually even crowdsurfing above their heads at one point. The band has been experiencing a revival since their reunion in 2022 and their fantastic newest album, “I Feel Like I’m Becoming a Ghost”, dropping in 2023.

Bayside then took the stage, kicking off their set with the classic track, “Montauk”, from their second self-titled album. Frontman Anthony Ranieri commented how their idea for the “Errors Tour” came about when they wanted to play 44 songs in each city, instead of just 22. He talked about how the band has so many songs that fans love from all across their career, but not enough time to play them all, so they thought, “why not just play 2 nights in every city?”

The night of classic nostalgia continued on, with the band delivering high-energy versions of much loved tracks from their third album, 2007’s “The Walking Wounded”, like “Duality”, “I and I”, and the ballad “Landing Feet First” (of which started a massive audience singalong). The band also reached far back in their discography, playing tracks from their first years as a band, like “Masterpiece”, “Guardrail” and “Kellum”, off of the first album, 2004’s “Sirens and Condolences.” The audience was audibly excited by this, as these tracks are very rarely played live. The audience cheered loudly and unleashed a constant stream of crowd-surfers to the front of stage as they ripped through these classic tracks. The “newest” songs they played for night 1 were tracks from 2008’s classic album, “Shudder”, like “Boy”, “No One Understands” and “The Ghost of St. Valentine”. Again, many of these tracks haven’t been played since the Shudder Tour in 2008 so hearing these songs was certainly a treat for the audience.

Bayside’s show at Brooklyn Bowl was a testament to how the songs we grew up with are forever engrained in our DNA, the music grows with us and becomes a part of us as we grow older, but we never forget the songs that influenced us almost two decades ago. The 1,000 people in the audience who turned up to sing every word of these songs that are almost 20 years old now proves this to be true and Bayside to be a band close to so many people’s hearts.

Photos by Dave Avidan

Four years ago, Hozier released his debut album and flooded western radio with his earthy rock/blues and smooth, soulful vocals. Throughout much of those four years, fans have continuously begged for and even demanded more music. At last Hozier has shared his EP, Nina Cried Power, which consists of four new songs.

Hozier has said that this new batch of songs connects to the various disheartening current events, saying they generally have “a sense of doom” (https://t.co/PvRoYq2Dpg). But the subject matter of the songs also comes from various perspectives; including the devastated and the more optimistic. The namesake to the EP, “Nina Cried Power,” is essentially a calling to everyone to not only know and understand what’s right, but to take a stand for it: “It’s not the waking, it’s the rising.” Featuring the vocals of Mavis Staples, the song also acknowledges a number of American artists who followed this example and simply overflows with soul. The music video features and gives credit to a number of activists in Ireland; simply showing them all listening and responding to this song which stands for what they so strongly believe in.

While “Nina Cried Power” is pretty much purely soul and blues, the following track, “NFWMB,” slows down and goes into the dark, organic blues/folk rock that’s so familiar from the debut album. It’s essence, both lyrically and musically, is soft and tender yet has the powerful depth to make it a hauntingly entrancing love song.

“Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue)” is the jam of the album that immediately gets your fingers snapping along to its bluesy guitar riffs. It starts at a mild tempo and melody that’s reminiscent of past tracks such as “To Be Alone.” Then the guitar suddenly barges through to give us a harder-hitting, driven chorus. Though Hozier’s belting vocals at this time complement the heavier riffs fairly well, the airy and echoing background vocals do soften the tone a little too much.

To end the EP, Hozier soothes us with folk-based “Shrike.” As beautiful and lulling as it is, it’s a bittersweet, almost mournful love song revolving around regret. He expresses regret over not showing or stating his love as much as he should have. Seemingly, this led to his lover leaving him. Throughout the song, he compares himself to a bird; specifically a shrike: “I fled to the city with so much discounted, ah but I’m flying like a bird to you now.” This line in particular seems to relate to the chorus: “Remember me love when I’m reborn, as the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn.” This is because of a shrike’s tendency to impale its prey through a thorn. It sounds a bit grim, but likely refers to how quickly and determinedly the shrike(Hozier) flies towards the thorn(his lover).

Luckily, this simply gives us a sample of what’s to be featured on the second full-length album that’s expected to come out early next year. No doubt, it won’t disappoint.

Nina Cried Power official video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2YgDua2gpk

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