EP Reviews: Hozier, Rauw Alejandro/Rosalia, Alice Longyu Gao

Eat Your Young EP - Hozier

It's been since 2019 that we last got a new crop of Hozier songs and it feels like it's been every second of that and more. When I covered Wasteland, Baby! there was love for Hozier pouring in from everywhere I posted it. But somehow his army of flannel-donning lesbian fans have dissipated a bit and I haven't heard nearly as many people talking about these songs. Despite that lack of noise, I've seen some positive coverage for this trio of songs, and the last time Hozier dipped his toes into the EP format on the Nina Cried Power EP I enjoyed it, so I dove in. I don't know why I was expecting time away to have made Hozier a bit more meditative and folky but I was certainly surprised to hear the soaring gospel-flavored indie rock of the title track kicking off the record even though it's well within Hozier's wheelhouse. I actually think the song is solid though the Achilles heel is Hozier's singing on the hook. I'm just not sure he had to push his voice in the way he did it really ends up losing the throughline of the refrain he's singing and it arguably could have been even more impactful played straight just because you can hear him better. All Things End is much more what I was expecting and ultimately a much better song. The highlights here are both the songwriting and pacing which work to make the swaying verses feel like a perfect compliment to the ultimately irresistible hook. This is exactly what Hozier is capable of at his best. Unfortunately, closing track Through Me is much more awkward with a stiff beat that stands out badly in the first verse and then just kind of gets ushered out of the song for no good reason. I don't think the track is as dark or epic as it thinks it is which makes some of the hammy backup singing and vocal flourishes on the hook feel really out of place. This EP is fine, inconsistent given how short it is but not without high points despite barely reaching 10 minutes. If Hozier follows his normal routine it shouldn't be too long before we get a full album to follow it and I'm more excited for the prospect of that then I am to ever return to this individual EP, though even I can't deny that All Things End is a song I'd love to hear again in the inevitable next tracklist. 6/10

RR EP - Rosalia & Rauw Alejandro

What's a nice way to spice up your engagement announcement, well if you're one of the hottest young stars of latin music and you're getting married to one of it's more experimental critical darlings then recording a few songs and dropping them on an EP seems perfect. That's the case for RR which is both a crossover that's more down to earth than we're used to hearing from Rosalia but a bit more considered and focused than we're used to hearing from Rauw. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed his music in the past as Todo De Ti may never leave my summer playlist again, but compared to Rosalia who dropped one of my favorite albums of last year in Motomami, Rauw is a bit more of a commercial "hits or nothing" type artist. So I was interested going into this project how the pair would attempt to meet their sounds in the middle. The opening track and the one that seems to be catching on the most BESO feels like much more of a Rosalia song with the sparse instrumental punctuated by stiff drums and drained out almost completely for her beautiful bridge. I also just admire the sentiment of the love song which is simple in its presentation but comes together perfectly when the pair harmonize on the hook. The second track VAMPIROS splits the pairs sounds a bit more equally and the result is kind of a banger. I love the rumbling beat and stiff clapping drums and the point where they trade off refrains reminds me of one of my favorite Rosalia songs La Combi Versace. While some of the jumping around in energy in the final minute is unpredictable it still makes for a fun song. Ultimately I'm not quite as enamored with PROMESA even though it has some wonderful vocals from both parties, it just isn't the same caliber of songwriting as the other two and the stiffer production really doesn't work with some of the electronics. I liked this EP a good bit even with a final track that didn't blow me away. Across three songs I see the pair not only having dynamic chemistry together but also following each other to sounds they may not have explored otherwise. While even the best songs here may not touch the highlights on Motomami that's a pretty high bar to reach and if you even land in the orbit of an album like that then you're definitely doing something right. 7/10

Let's Hope Heteros Fail, Learn, And Retire EP - Alice Longyu Gao

I was considering skipping this Ep entirely since it's basically just all the singles ALG has released recently with an intro song tacked on. But also it feels like the presentation a lot of these songs were meant to have the the way they'll be consumed by new fans in the future, plus I've been following almost all of them as they've been released so let's do this. While I wasn't crazy about Alice's last EP I certainly had reason from the singles to believe that this era would be more fruitful. Make U 3 Me was on my singles list last year and I still think it's easily the best song she's ever released solo. I was also a pretty big fan of the self-reflective Monk whose total breakdown in the second half is a bold conclusion that I wish more songs of its nature were willing to take. The other four songs here, however, I came into the EP a bit mixed on. Come 2 Brazil is probably the simplest track of the bunch but I can't do anything but like it given how charismatically grand Alice's lyrics are and that it's all built around a meme from Instagram comments. The worse half of that comes on Hetloe Kitty which seems like it starts off with something to say despite the really awful sounding ska-flavored instrumental and then it just all disintegrates into nothing.  When I first heard Believe The Hype I compared it to Shygirl's BDE with Bring Me The Horizon frontman Oli Sykes taking over the role of Slowthai. The only caveat being that Believe The Hype is a weaker song in pretty much every way and I stand by that. Thankfully, .Sex the one deep cut here has grown on me a good bit since I first heard it. I love the whirring instrumental electronics in the background and her specific reference to digicore on the hook. I also just think the presents this hilariously honest portrayal of having sex with a roommate in the house that I can imagine most people will relate to. This EP is definitely a step up from ALG's last, if only because it has higher highs and shows off her potential even more. I still don't think she's operating at 100% but Let's Hope certainly raised my expectations of what that can one day be with its brash and versatile sonic palette. As always Alice is an uncompromising personality and will stick around for that alone. But if her next project is her best yet, look out, because it could set the hyperpop world on fire. 7/10