Wasteland, Baby!

Hozier’s Wasteland, Baby! is his second studio album, released on March 1, 2019, and it expands his blend of soul, folk, blues, and rock into a rich, apocalyptic love record. Written as he was obsessively following world events and the shifting “Doomsday Clock,” the album fuses global anxiety with intimate romance, treating falling in love and watching the world burn as parallel, intertwined experiences. Sonically, it leans on gospel choirs, bluesy organs, warm guitars, and his trademark, sermon-like vocal delivery, creating a dense yet inviting atmosphere where spiritual imagery and political subtext sit alongside deeply personal confession.

The tracklist includes “Nina Cried Power” (featuring Mavis Staples), “Almost (Sweet Music),” “Movement,” and the title track “Wasteland, Baby!,” each highlighting a different facet of his songwriting—from activist homage to jazz-inflected nostalgia to visceral, slow-burning balladry. Throughout the record, Hozier balances visions of rising seas, social unrest, and end-times imagery with tenderness, humor, and a quiet faith in human connection, giving the album a tone that is more wry and hopeful than its title suggests. Critics have described it as a transitional and maturing work, where he refines his folk roots into something more accessible without losing the poetic density and spiritual weight that defined his debut.