HOZIER IN L.A.: THE FONDA GOES TO "CHURCH"

The true measure of Hozier’s burgeoning stardom: The quality of the screaming he elicits from his fans.

During the Columbia troubadour's last L.A. visit, when he appeared before a throng of hipsters at a Koreatown church, there was surely a touch of incipient Beatlemania to the response. But at Friday night’s cramming-room-only show at L.A.’s Fonda Theater, with his “Take Me to Church” a Grammy Song of the Year contender and a relentless force at radio and retail, the screaming had another quality altogether.

It was like sawteeth on the ear, a jet-engine banshee wail that clearly stunned (and slightly mortified) the artist, a self-described “gangly introvert” from small-town Ireland.

But this is what happens when you make music that drives women mad, and Andrew Hozier-Byrne’s work, equal parts brooding Celtic romanticism, Delta blues and liebestod—along with his honeyed voice and rock-poet good looks—produces acute and sometimes alarming symptoms in the female demo.

But anyone with ears can appreciate the richness of his ever-more-assured live presentation (which followed a prettily spooky opening set by his Icelandic labelmate Asgeir); his deep vocal tone and spidery fingerpicking on guitar is augmented by a phalanx of siren-like backup singers (one of them, the remarkable Alana Henderson, doubling on cello) and the Bonham-esque thunder of drummer Rory Doyle. Indeed, there was more than a little Zeppelin III power to the folk-rock-blues churned out by Team Hozier.

The audience clamor clearly stunned (and slightly mortified) the artist, a self-described “gangly introvert” from small-town Ireland.

And that material. If you’re still wondering if there’s more to Hozier than his hit, you need to spend some time with his album, which I consider to be nearly perfect. He ran through most of it at the Fonda show (the first date of his current tour), including the electrifying R&B workout “Jackie & Wilson,” the ravishing new single “From Eden” (which he just peformed on Ellen), the poppy promiscuity anthem “Someone New,” the harrowing but righteous “Sedated,” and intimate tunes like the masochist’s love song “Cherry Wine” and the timeless duet “In a Week” (featuring gorgeous vocals by Henderson), in which two lovers sink into eternity in the Wicklow Mountains and get, um, reclaimed by nature.

“That’s the most enthusiastic response I’ve ever heard,” Hozier remarked with surprise after the latter tune ended to another frenzied eruption from the crowd, “to a song about death.”

He concluded his encore mini-set with a splendid cover of Amerie’s neo-funk masterpiece “1 Thing,” expressed his gratitude, with accustomed blushing humility, to everyone in attendance, then stood in awe as the audience screamed at him some more.

Tomorrow night, he’ll surely bring a bit of that buzz to the Grammy stage, when he joins the legendary Annie Lennox for “Church.” Here’s a related clip to whet your appetite: