As the four-year anniversary of “Wasteland, Baby!” arrives on Mar. 1, songs from the album have started to rise in popularity. Being the second studio album by Hozier, the album rose to success when it first reached the number one spot on many Billboard charts after its release. This album is following the past success of Hozier’s self-titled debut album “Hozier” containing the hit song “Take Me to Church” which reached the number one spot in 18 countries when it was first released, leading fans to high hopes with “Wasteland, Baby!” 

The album opener is named “Nina Cried Power” and was made with the assistance of Mavis Staples, combining the rhymes and blues of America with the gospel vocals of Staples. The song was an homage to the civil rights act, with the name “Nina” belonging to Nina Simone, a singer and civil rights activist. The song mentions names such as James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and BB King, all names of activists from previous generations. “Cried Power” comes from the idea that the civil rights act was never a waking but a constant rising that has been within America since the beginning of slavery in the United States.  

The second track on the album is titled “Almost (Sweet Music)” and paid tribute to the jazz players of the past. Many gentle songs are referenced within this song, such as Ella Fitzgerald’s “That Was My Heart” and “Russian Lullaby” along with Ray Charles’ “Let the Good Times Roll”. The music video for the song was released with the focus being on musicians and dancers. Cameron Boyce and Christine Flores portray dancers along with several shots being moved across to different musicians playing many different instruments such as piano, guitar, and cello.  

The third track, titled “Movement”, was first released as a single. The song focuses on the idea of movement within the world. The music video for the song highlights the physical emotionality that dance can give to the world. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard charts for digital sales, as the music video has gained 28,000,000 views.  

Other songs from the album include “No Plan”, “Nobody”, “To Noise Making (Sing”), “As It Was”, “Shrike”, “Talk”, “Be”, “Dinner & Diatribes”, “Would That I”, “Sunlight”, and the album title “Wasteland, Baby!”. Many songs were created with soul, R&B, and folk-induced sounds to give the album a bluesy feel, while still being able to touch on important topics. “I feel like he genuinely wants to describe his subjects in a really poetic and loving light. His guitar chords are also amazing and so soothing. Overall, I just love him and his music,” former yearbook student, Evelyn Fleming said.