Trapped Within an Abstract: How Hozier navigates (pandemic) trauma in Unreal Unearth (2023)

Abstract

This thesis examines how Hozier’s Unreal Unearth (2023) translates the trauma stemming from the COVID-19 Pandemic into a thematic concept album structured around Dante’s Inferno. Music’s effect on trauma has been widely researched, however, the artist’s perspective is underrepresented when exploring its impact on processing trauma. The objective of this thesis is to expand the scope of research on music in relation to trauma studies through analysis of this perspective. The main methodologies utilized in this thesis are Philipp Tagg’s hermeneutic-semiotic approach to popular music analysis and David Nicholls’ method for narrative analysis of song lyrics. Furthermore, this thesis explores how Unreal Unearth functions as a thematic concept album through its intertextual relationship to Dante’s Inferno. The research examines the album’s structural, lyrical, and musical elements to reveal how concept albums function as a tool for processing cultural trauma. This study first examines key concepts and theories around cultural trauma, intertextuality, and concept albums as narrative tools. It then moves to situate Unreal Unearth as a thematic concept album, revealing the role of artistic expression in processing cultural trauma. Through intertextual analysis, this thesis explores how Hozier reinterprets Dante’s Inferno, to mirror thematic elements of love, loss, and social critique. Close readings of select songs reveal how Hozier blends narrative lyricism with his music to convey his sense of trauma from the pandemic. Ultimately, Unreal Unearth illustrates how contemporary musicians can engage with historical and literary frameworks to process modern crises. This thesis contributes to the academic fields of musicology and trauma studies by foregrounding the artist’s perspective, expanding existing discourse on music’s role in processing cultural trauma like the COVID-19 pandemic.