Hozier - Wasteland, Baby! [2 LP, Deluxe, 180g Black Vinyl]

Wasteland, Baby! debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on March 1, 2019, making it the first rock album to top the chart in more than three months at the time of release. Issued on Rubyworks/Columbia, the fourteen-track original drew from soul, gospel, blues, and folk, with production credits split between Hozier, Markus Dravs, Rob Kirwan, and Ariel Rechtshaid. Now available as a Deluxe Edition on 180-gram black vinyl 2LP, the release expands the original sequence with five bonus tracks, bringing the total to nineteen tracks.

The original fourteen tracks move between gospel-choir-backed arrangements, blues-inflected guitar work, and quieter folk structures. "Nina Cried Power," the lead single featuring Mavis Staples, opens the record with a soulful, percussion-forward arrangement and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart. "Movement," the second single, is an R&B-paced track built around a recurring piano figure and peaked at No. 3 on Adult Alternative Songs. "Almost (Sweet Music)" and "Dinner & Diatribes" round out the singles, the latter featuring a country-influenced arrangement that sits apart from the rest of the record. Booker T. Jones contributes organ to both "Be" and "Sunlight," adding a distinct instrumental texture to the album's second half.

The five bonus tracks on side four include a live recording of "Shrike" from Windmill Lane Studios, an acoustic version of "Be," the previously released "NFWMB," "Moment's Silence (Common Tongue)," and a new song, "Why Would You Be Loved." Pressed on 180-gram black vinyl, the Deluxe Edition presents all nineteen tracks in sequence. The album cover was painted by Hozier's mother from posed photographs of the artist in a staged underwater set.

• Format: 180g Black Vinyl 2LP
• Standout Tracks: "Nina Cried Power," "Movement," "Almost (Sweet Music)"
• Pressing Details: Deluxe Edition; 5 bonus tracks including "Why Would You Be Loved" and "Shrike (Live At Windmill Lane Studios)"; Rubyworks/Columbia reissue
• Genre/Style: Folk Rock, Soul, Blues Rock, Indie Folk
• UPC: 198028187510

Wasteland, Baby! reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified gold in the US and platinum in Canada, a commercial record that the Deluxe Edition which is now pressed on double vinyl.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. Nina Cried Power (Feat. Mavis Staples)
2. Almost (Sweet Music)
3. Movement
4. No Plan
5. Nobody

Side B:

1. To Noise Making (Sing)
2. As It Was
3. Shrike
4. Talk
5. Be

Side C:

1. Dinner & Diatribes
2. Would That I
3. Sunlight
4. Wasteland, Baby!

Side D:

1. Shrike (Live At Windmill Lane Studios)
2. Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue)
3. Why Would You Be Loved
4. Be (Acoustic)
5. NFWMB