Eat Your Young is the sixth extended play (EP) by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. The three-track collection was released on 17 March 2023 through Rubyworks Records, to celebrate the singer's birthday, St. Patrick's Day, the ten-year anniversary of his debut, and to tease his then-upcoming third studio album Unreal Unearth. At the time of the EP's release, all three of its songs were slated to appear on Unreal Unearth, though "Through Me (The Flood)" ultimately was absent from the album. Hozier performed the EP in full in a set on NPR's World Cafe on 18 March 2023.
The title track was released as a single the same day and debuted at number seven on the Irish Singles Chart and number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100. For the latter, it became Hozier's second entry on the chart, with the first being the breakout single "Take Me to Church" in 2014. "Eat Your Young" also became Hozier's third song to top the US Adult Alternative Airplay charts. The title track's music video, directed by Jason Lester and starring Ivanna Sakhno was released on 5 April 2023, followed by a video for "All Things End" on 27 April 2023.
Reception In a review for Mxdwn, Blake Michelle praised the songwriting of the EP, writing "The title track falls into the same category of 'Take Me to Church,' in using a mix of religious and sexual imagery to create social commentary—in this case, consumption and prioritizing war profits over alleviating poverty. It turns the need to produce and consume into an almost demonic urge, fitting for a song based on the Gluttony level of hell. The following two songs stare into the abyss, and yet find comfort in the knowledge that everything is temporary."
Track listing
Personnel Musicians
Hozier – lead vocals Craig Balmoris – drum programming Bekon – background vocals organ piano strings synthesizer Amanda Brown – background vocals Darien Dorsey – organ Marius Feder – synthesizer Gregory Fletcher – background vocals Drew Forde – viola Roland Garcia – percussion Peter Gonzales – drums programming Sergiu "Rappy" Gherman – programming Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman – bass electric guitar synthesizer Peter Gonzales – drums programming Nayanna Holley – background vocals Stuart Johnson – drums , synthesizer Charles Jones – background vocals Daniel Krieger – guitar bass Andrew Kwon – violin Haesol Lee – violin Daniel Lim – cello Ginny Luke – violin Lisa McCormick – French horn Kadeem Nichols – background vocals Stanley Randolph – drums Aretha Scruggs – background vocals Toni Scruggs – background vocals Jordan Seigel – string arrangement Fletcher Sheridan – background vocals David Simmonds – background vocals SORA – cello The Whole Soul Strings – strings Danielle Withers – background vocals
Technical
Hozier – vocal engineer Wil Anspach – engineer Matt Anthony – engineer Tom Elmhirst – mixing engineer Greg Calbi – mastering engineer Sean Cook – vocal engineer Steve Fallone – mastering engineer Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman – engineer Peter Gonzales – recording engineer , mixing engineer Adam Hong – mixing engineer Peter Katis – mixing engineer Daniel Krieger – vocal engineer Logan Taylor – assistant recording engineer , engineer Jordan Siegel – recording engineer
Chart performance While the EP as a whole did not chart in any territory, all three songs charted individually.
"Eat Your Young" Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Eat Your Young" Chart (2023) Peak position German Download Singles (Official German Charts) 7 Latvia (LAIPA) 6New Zealand Top 40 Singles (RMNZ)38
Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for "Eat Your Young" Chart (2023) Position US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 41 US Rock Airplay (Billboard) 38
Certifications
"All Things End" +Chart performance for "All Things End" Chart (2023) Peak positionCanadian Digital Song Sales (Billboard)36New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)13
"Through Me (The Flood)" +Chart performance for "Through Me (The Flood)" Chart (2023) PeakpositionCanadian Digital Song Sales (Billboard)33New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)18
References