Wasteland, Baby! is the second studio album by Irish musician Hozier, released on 1 March 2019 by Rubyworks Records. It is Hozier's first album since 2014. The album includes the songs "Nina Cried Power" and "Shrike" from the 2018 EP Nina Cried Power, as well as the single "Movement". It will be promoted by a North American tour, to begin in March 2019, and a European tour in August, September and October of 2019.
Background
Hozier stated that he had performed for his debut album up until late 2016. Afterwards, he took a year off, which he spent in Ireland. While on his time off, he wanted to get back into the same mindset he had while writing his first album. He spent the last 18 months prior to Wasteland, Baby!'s release working on it.
Promotion
Hozier announced the track listing in a video posted to Twitter, showing himself writing it down and then displaying it. The album pre-order became available with the track "Almost ".
Singles
"Movement" was released as the lead single off the album on 14 November 2018. A music video for the song was also released on the same day. "Almost " was released as the second single off the album, along with the album pre-order, on 16 January 2019. A music video for the song was released on 16 April 2019. "Dinner & Diatribes" was released as the third single off the album on 15 February 2019. A music video for the song was released on 6 March 2019.
Critical reception
Wasteland, Baby! received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on 10 reviews. Positive reviews include AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who called the album "a subtle but notable shift that lends emotional gravity to a singer/songwriter who already favored weighty topics." Michael Pementel of Consequence of Sound stated "from the blend of instrumentals to the enchanting use of Hozier's voice, Wasteland, Baby! is an album that celebrates emotion and the wonder of music." Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph gave the album a perfect score, claiming Hozier to be "a talent to rival Jeff Buckley." Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times said "despite a hiccup or two, without which would have made for a five-star record – it's a very welcome one." Elisabeth Woronzoff of PopMatters stated that Hozier needed the album "to recapture the energy created by his previous releases then further light the artist's skill and vision of his craft." And that it "certainly delivers while edifying the artist as an impactful voice in the art and activism sphere." Mixed reviews include The Arts Desk's Russ Coffey, who said that the album's "finer moments – and there are many – come where he balances his natural despondency with some positivity." Damien Morris of The Guardian stated "it’s a lovely sound, but the songwriting veers more towards the serviceable than the inspired." Jonathan Bernstein of Rolling Stone claimed the album "has enough encouraging displays of maturation to feel like a transitional moment for Hozier. At its best, the album carves out a space for the singer to work out his creative tensions as he finds new ways to make his straight folk influences more accessible without losing anything along the way." Negative reviews include The Independent's Mark Beaumont, claiming "Hozier has some pertinent points to make on an album that improves dramatically in the second half." Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork said "the man who took us to church tries to take us to the same church, again, 14 times, six years later."
Commercial performance
Wasteland, Baby! debuted at number one on the Irish Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, earning 89,000 album-equivalent units in the latter country. It is Hozier's first US number-one album.
